The Breeders: The Cleavers of the New Millenium

Who is that second kid? Foreshadowing...

We are in what may be the worst economy since the Great Depression and my husband just quit his job. 

He hated it. It was not his “calling” and the benefits sucked. I actually like my job and the benefits are great — not only does the entire family have medical, dental and vision coverage, but I had six months of maternity leave for cryin’ out loud.

We decided it made sense for Adam to quit his job, for one very simple reason — economics. It may sound counterintuitive — to decide to have less income does not seem like a smart economic decision — but daycare is expensive. Very expensive. Almost more expensive than our rent.

On average, a nice daycare will run you about half of one of our monthly salaries. Add in bus fare, lunches, maintaining your work attire, sick days for the inevitable daycare colds, and it didn’t really make sense for Adam to spend forty hours a week away from the kid just so we could afford to have someone else take care of him for forty hours a week.

And while I may be the only one with a dependable salary and benefits, Adam’s talents will also be bringing in some income. More importantly, he gets to spend time with the kid while launching a career he actually likes.

So, now I bring home (the majority of) the bacon and my husband fries it up in a pan. Surprisingly well, I might add. But he also does the laundry, mops the floors, illustrates and paints commission projects, and makes sure the kid is not only in one piece by the end of the day, but is enriched and happy.

I may have gotten the easier end of the deal.

Also posted on Alameda Patch.