I used to wonder why my wife was so tired when I got home from work every day… that is, until she went away for a weekend and I became ‘Mr. Mom’ to our two boys. That’s when I started paying closer attention to the differences between my days at work and her days at home with the kids. What I discovered was terrifying and should send a chill down the spines of dads everywhere.
Because as I sleep peacefully and uninterruptedly, a miniature assassin often stands at my wife’s side of the bed at three in the morning, waking her up, because he had ‘a bad dream about ants.’
While I decidedly pick out a shirt to wear to work, my wife patiently waits for our eight-year-old to go through every shirt in his closet and ultimately choose a shirt from the dirty basket to wear.
While I listen to music on my drive to work, my wife listens to the joyous melody of the kids screaming and calling each other stupid-heads because they both want to read the same book.
While I swiftly work the five items on my to-do list through to completion, my wife works the first item on her to-do list five times over after being interrupted by demands for more chocolate milk.
While I enjoy a peaceful lunch as I ponder the meaning of life, my wife eats whatever cold, leftover mac n’ cheese that wasn’t flung on our kitchen wall as she ponders the meaning of mom life.
While I go for a relaxing walk before returning from my lunch break, my wife has already buckled our four-year-old into the car seat twice, effectively burning twice as many calories as I have.
While I have a tough meeting at work, my wife has already dealt with a terrorist who threw himself onto the floor because one of his french fries had a brown spot on it, making all other fries inedible.
While I drive home, imagining what kind of delicious meal my wife is preparing for me and wondering just what in the world she’s been doing at home all day, my wife has done the grocery shopping, washed clothes, helped with homework, cleaned and vacuumed the house, successfully negotiated a peace deal between two brothers hell-bent on killing each other, and made us dinner.
Motherhood can be so tough… the screaming… the tantrums… the crying… then there’s the kids!
But trust me, fellow dads, there’s a reason why she’s so tired. Pray that your wife never decides to go away for a weekend, or you’ll get a chance to understand this for yourself. You’ve been warned.