Best Job in the World

Many of you know that I have been a stay-at-home dad for the whole of my sons 2+ years of life. To say it has been enjoyable is an understatement. Certainly there have been and continue to be different types of challenges that come up, but that is part of fatherhood.

One thing I really enjoy doing with Nat is taking short trips to various sites and museums. We have visited the Billy Sunday Museum, the Fort Wayne Firefighter Museum, and the campus of Notre Dame, something I had long wanted to do. Today we visited the WWII Victory Museum in Auburn, IN. (They really need to update their website.) I love history, so museums with historical artifacts get me very excited. Nathaniel loved the "big trucks" and the motorcycles. Certainly he is way too young to understand the significance of the museum, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the time together. While I didn't get any pictures, another part of the museum was full of historic cars and cars from TV and movies. So we saw the A-Team van, the Duke's Car and K.I.T.T., to name a few. It was fun, but I must say I enjoyed the Victory Museum much more.

One thing I have learned in being a stay-at-home dad is the importance of taking short day trips like these together. Is it a little challenging to take a tiny baby into the Billy Sunday Museum or take a two year old into a museum with big trucks and signs that say "Do not touch"? Sure it is challenging. Will he remember the museum or experience? Highly unlikely. But in a day and age when people seem "too busy" to have fun with the family, I have pictures and memories of many experiences that I have had the chance to fulfill with my son. And while my wonderful wife has worked hard to provide for these experiences, it will soon be her turn to take the title, "stay-at-home parent." A role she can't wait to fulfill!

So I am blessed. I am the husband of a great woman who has given up her dreams of staying home with our son so I can go to school and fulfill my dreams. I am the father of an amazing little boy with another one on the way. Sometime next week, we'll get the news of the Chaplain Boards. If all works out, I will be away for about five of the next nine months for various training opportunities. That's a long time. If God opens the door to Active Duty Chaplaincy, the likelihood of me being deployed is pretty high. Deployments right now for active duty soldiers are fifteen months. That's a really long time and I will miss a lot of these types of experiences. But what a blessing it has been to be a stay-at-home dad for these past two years. I have pictures and memories that I can refer to when I am away from home this next year. And thanks to skype, I'll be able to see my family when I talk to them.

If you are a parent let me encourage you to do stuff like this. Spend the ten bucks to make a memory, even if your son or daughter won't remember. Take the time to get in the car and go to the zoo for the day or whatever. The time and little money you spend is really insignificant compared to the excitement you get when you get to look back and remember.

Thanks for reading,

Rob