Trapped

I used to hear about how women could feel trapped staying at home. I would see/hear about shows, such as Oprah, where women would talk about how hard it was to be a stay at home parent. I would listen but never believe. I mean, stay at home, no stress from work, just throw in a few loads of laundry once in a while. How hard could that be?

I still believe it is easy in that respect, but it is the mental aspects that are the hardest.

You hear men (great fodder for comedy) talk about coming home from a hard day at work and the wife just laying into them about nothing, all mad about something very minor that happened days ago. They would chalk it up to hormones or something of that nature.

It's not hormonal, as I just experienced it.

For the last three hours I have been trying to get a few things done and make a few simple phone calls. Katherine has been very demanding of attention at the worst possible moments and cannot be distracted. I hate whining in children, and she can be very effective at it if she doesn't get what she wants.

After three hours of this I have a headache and I feel like I am going to snap. I just made a typo and I had an urge to throw this laptop.

I am angry. But I can't take it out on the children, because they do not know any better and then I would be a bad parent. The logical, or most readily available target is the wife.

If the wife can home right now I would find any excuse to start a fight so I could have an outlet.

Hopefully a telemarketer will call before she gets home so I can take it out on them.

Honey, if you are reading this at work, bring flowers.

First Words

I think Katherine said her first words today.

I was lying on the couch while she was climbing on me and she hit me in the chest and said "Da-da-da". It is not unusual for a child's first words to be da-da, and she has been saying that and much more for some time, but this is the first indication that it is not just random words. Of course, I have been pointing to my chest and saying "da-da" for months now, so it may just be random.

The wife, ever eager to rain on my parade, immediately announced that the other day Katherine hit herself in the chest and said "da-da", so it may be that she thinks that is the word for chest.

Either way, this will be the official date of her first word.