Heroes.

Heroes are an odd concept.  For a quite long time I didn't have the greatest relationship with my parents.  It wasn't until I realized that their time on the planet could be measured in years and not decades did I decide to change that.

My parents had five children (one of which is a special needs kid) and their own business.  The business was a time intensive one.  They worked seven days a week and 365 days a year, they would just put in a few hours on Thanksgiving and Christmas, but they still worked.  I remember when my father realized that he was getting older so he decided to work half days...4 am to 4 pm.  Yes, he thought that 12 hour days was cutting back, for him it was.

I'm not a big believer in heroes, but I do believe in accidental mentors.  When I have doubts about being a stay at home dad I think about my parents.  They had 67% more children and one was a special needs child.  My father didn't do anywhere near the amount of housework I did when I was employed.  Now that I'm the stay at home dad I do all sorts of housework and play with my kids more than my parents ever played with us.  I got my work ethic from my parents.  Unfortunately, I never learned about housekeeping from my parents.  My challenge now is to adjust my work ethic to a my at home work ethic.

It's hard, but my parents did more with less.  I think I can do it.