What a Daddy Does… Part One

You may have asked yourself: “Self… I wonder what a stay-at-home dad does all day? Is it all naps, play-dates and pureed food”?

Well… Let me answer that question for you. First of all… Yes, the naps are quite a nice perk of the job. I don’t know about the play-dates; I’ve never been invited on one. Should I bring wine or flowers? As for the pureed food – all I know is I eat more than the sprout. The fruits are ok, though a little watery. Anything with meat (turkey or chicken) is disgusting.

Of course I can’t speak for all stay-at-home dads. I’ll tell you what I do.

When little sprout was new, I used to put her in the stroller and walk around Greenlake. It was summertime, and the little punkin was happy to be outside with stuff to look at. I was just happy that she was happy. The exercise and Greenlake in the summertime were just fringe benefits. Soon I was going around the lake three times a day.

With stops for the bottle, changing and other beanlit maintenance, it could take over 4 hours. Although I listened to several audio books, it got to be a little lonesome.

As pathetic as it sounds, I decided to pay for some company (not that kind!) with Stroller Strides.

Stroller Strides is a group of moms with little ones as new as 3-4 months to somewhere around three years. In a nutshell, the program is designed to help post-partum moms get back into shape. If you’re interested in their official blurb, or more information, click the link above.

The leader (Kelli) has been cool and excited for me to join from the start. I’m sure there have been other Stroller Dads, but not when I’ve been involved. Most of the moms have warmed up to having some dude around when they are working out; some are still a little aloof.

Although I have little use for Kegel exercises, the workouts are challenging, and the moms are fun to hang out with.

I’m also using all the collective mother-experience for my benefit. If I have a question, chances are that one of the moms has had the same problem and knows how to handle it.

I must say that we are a bit of an oddity around Greenlake. Quite often, some creepy dude will hang around and watch the workout. As the one with testicles, I’ve been drafted as the resident bouncer. However, I’m sure if push came to shove, these moms could bring a lot more ass-kickin-hurt on someone than I could.

Over the last five or six months that I’ve been with this group of extraordinary moms, there is a core group that come rain or shine, and really work hard. I have noticed dramatic changes in their bodies as a result of these workouts. They are thinner, stronger and have much more stamina. It’s really quite impressive.

I’m writing this here because I feel uncomfortable telling these moms, wives, girlfriends; women that they look good. I’m afraid it will come out creepy, “Hey… you look gooood.” Especially in their sweaty workout clothes, with baby barf on their shirt, and cheerios in their morning hair.