Monday, July 10, 2006
Hey Jealousy!
Last week, The Wife started working part-time so she could stay home more and take care of Luke. We discussed this for awhile and we both decided that it was a good idea. It wasn’t that hard of a decision to reach either. She missed her son. She hates her job. I hated being pestered to do household chores. And here’s a solution to all the problems.
The Wife makes a much better stay-at-home parent than I did anyway. In case you forgot, I was practically a stay-at-home parent while I was in school. It wasn’t what I’d call “fun.” This probably has something to do with my parenting style. I’m very high-energy and I like to have fun. But I can only do that for a limited amount of time. And if the kid isn’t in a “fun-having” mood, then we’re going to have problems. So I was thrilled to be working full-time and pretty darn happy that The Wife wanted to stay home and take care of Luke.
The only problem is that I’m finding that I’m quite jealous of the situation. It’s very odd because I hated staying at home when I actually did. But on Friday, The Wife took Luke to the Brookfield Zoo. This morning, she took him for a walk and then had some other kids over for a playdate. And really, it’s not that exciting of stuff (believe me, it’s not). And yet when I look at my alternative, going to work, having a bunch of kids over terrorizing the house actually seems quaint and peaceful.
Sure, that might have something to do with how much I hate Mondays. And it might have something to do with me not having much to do at work. But I think a large part of it is jealousy. Not necessarily jealousy about what The Wife is doing, but jealousy that she doesn’t have to go to work. Because that’s every American’s dream. And that’s why I’m committed to playing the lottery. I don’t want to work any more. I just want to be filthy stinking rich. And if I understand the lottery correctly, it’s the single best way to get filthy stinking rich without having to work. And there are so many winners! Why it seems like everyone BUT me has won the lottery. And you know what that means, right? I’m due. And so when I’m in the poor house, selling my body for some scratch and win tickets, I want you to know how it all started. Because I was jealous of my wife not having to work on Mondays and Fridays.
The Wife makes a much better stay-at-home parent than I did anyway. In case you forgot, I was practically a stay-at-home parent while I was in school. It wasn’t what I’d call “fun.” This probably has something to do with my parenting style. I’m very high-energy and I like to have fun. But I can only do that for a limited amount of time. And if the kid isn’t in a “fun-having” mood, then we’re going to have problems. So I was thrilled to be working full-time and pretty darn happy that The Wife wanted to stay home and take care of Luke.
The only problem is that I’m finding that I’m quite jealous of the situation. It’s very odd because I hated staying at home when I actually did. But on Friday, The Wife took Luke to the Brookfield Zoo. This morning, she took him for a walk and then had some other kids over for a playdate. And really, it’s not that exciting of stuff (believe me, it’s not). And yet when I look at my alternative, going to work, having a bunch of kids over terrorizing the house actually seems quaint and peaceful.
Sure, that might have something to do with how much I hate Mondays. And it might have something to do with me not having much to do at work. But I think a large part of it is jealousy. Not necessarily jealousy about what The Wife is doing, but jealousy that she doesn’t have to go to work. Because that’s every American’s dream. And that’s why I’m committed to playing the lottery. I don’t want to work any more. I just want to be filthy stinking rich. And if I understand the lottery correctly, it’s the single best way to get filthy stinking rich without having to work. And there are so many winners! Why it seems like everyone BUT me has won the lottery. And you know what that means, right? I’m due. And so when I’m in the poor house, selling my body for some scratch and win tickets, I want you to know how it all started. Because I was jealous of my wife not having to work on Mondays and Fridays.
