The clocks have been set and the snow is melting as we spring ahead into the next phase of family life here at the big house in Moorhead.  As you may know, I have considered myself a “stay at home” dad for nearly four years (though the census bureau does not believe this is possible) and was interviewed for a Fargo Forum article about the challenges and joy of it all this past fall.  Here is the news:  I have accepted a full time job.

My new gig is the same as my old part-time job working with my physically and developmentally disabled clients, but I am now taking care of people professionally for forty hours every week instead of twenty-six hours every other weekend.  So is this the end of my parenting?  Has The Daddy Dispatch reached the end of its run?  I think not.

For one thing, my roles and responsibilities are not changing dramatically, since my forty hour workweek occurs in a forty-one hour period (I do get to sleep a little bit at night, but it is still a marathon shift).  Janelle continues to be our primary breadwinner while I will continue to be the primary homemaker.  Even so, things will be changing for Dylan (5) and Julia (2) as they begin their first day of pre-school this week.  The seasons march relentlessly onward, as we seek to grow and change along with the times.  Wish us luck in our new phase and enjoy the coming spring!