Since I am a stay-at-home dad, obviously my daughter is not yet in preschool. Actually, we have been quite fortunate to have kept her home as long as we have. Although this will be ending soon, I relish the time that I still have with her. There are moments, however, when my precious angel more closely resembles a monster. How can that be, you may ask? Let’s just say that getting sick really brings out the monster in my little girl.
Since she has not been in day care or around other kids consistently, Little One does not get sick very often. However, the trade off is that when she does get sick, she tends to be extremely fussy. She just doesn’t understand this thing that is happening to her. She really takes the Fusstrain to Clarksville. I can’t tell you how often this weekend she cried out, “Wipe my nose!” Although we are trying to teach her to blow her own nose, it’s touch and go around here right now.
With Little One being so fussy, needless to say it has been trying times around the household lately. Three year olds can be difficult anyway you slice it, but now she is even more demanding and with a shorter fuse than usual. My wife took her for a nap drive today, and she just parked outside of Target for awhile, waiting for Little One to wake up. She said over dinner, “That time in the car with her was the best part of my day.”
The HBO sketch comedy series “Mr. Show” had a skit about monster parties. A supposed expert was asked what would happen if such creatures as Dracula and the Wolfman got together.
“I mean, if they get together, it’s going to be a terrifying battle … they’re not going to get along, much less have a bash of some kind.”
Sometimes life with little ones is a terrifying battle, for multiple reasons. It can definitely be a terrifying battle to try and exert your will over a preschooler. But it can also be a battle with yourself, as you try to find the right balance between giving them some freedom or just losing your cool. It can be a battle with your partner as well, since every adult will have a different breaking point when “enough is enough” from the child.
So what can you do? I break it down to three main rules: just try and stay strong, keep your patience, and enjoy the silence. Yes, hold clutchingly to your downtime, because there will not be a lot of it when you are doing five things at once.
How do you enjoy your downtime? How do you “get away,” even if just for a moment?
jeffsilvey.com 
I read a few of your posts and have really enjoyed your site! My hubby and I were *THIS CLOSE* to having him be a SAHD, but work circumstances changed and it ended up being better for us to switch. So now he is working and I’ll be home with the little one. Anyway, I’m glad to see that other dads are not afraid to take on the role of at-home parent. I look forward to continuing to read about your adventures. 🙂
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Thanks for your comment on my post the other day. I am enjoying the silence right now!
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My downtime/guilty pleasure is watching brainless television. And I mean mind-numbingly mindless shows like “Jersey Shore” and “Cupcake Wars”. I cant believe i admitted that publicly!
Your stories about your lil “hyper monster” get me excited/scared for what’s to come…keep ’em coming! I’m prepping myself as I watch “jimmy kimmel”.
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When I get “down time”, it comes at 9:00PM when my daughter hits the pillow and falls sound asleep in dreamland. I actually find myself watching the clock at night: part of me wishes it wouldn’t come so fast, as I miss my daughter during the day while I’m working and would love more time with her, the other part of me is so tired that I’m counting the minutes until I’m officially “off” the clock, so-to-speak. Then, down time can be watching HGTV and harboring jealousy for the couples buying that nifty new home I can’t afford, or having a cup of green tea while I try to read a John Grisham book over and over again (because it takes me so long in between down times to read it), or looking forward to my terrific b.f. coming over for a late night date night at my place. Down time can be a stranger, but when it arrives, I open the door widely and say, come on in!
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I’ve been flipping through your blog the last couple of days. It’s nice to read – there’s a lot here I can relate to, especially this post. I guess time, space, culture, context, and even gender don’t make too much of a difference to the fundamental experience of stay-at-home parenting.
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