Poppa Penguin

So why the title Poppa Penguin? Well to those of my readers who didn’t see the documentary March of the Penguins a few years back the father penguin is the one who watches and keeps the unhatched eggs warm while the mother penguin goes back into the frozen and treacherous wilderness to retrieve food for their growing family. Even if the egg hatches the father penguin watches over the safety and concern of the young penguin until the momma penguin returns with the food. It’s not uncommon in the animal kingdom for the mother to be the provider of food and shelter for the family. Lionesses get the food not the den father. Lady Robin’s are the ones getting that early worm.

But the fact that the father penguin stays and watches over the egg/young while the mother goes out and gets the goods is what resonated so much to our family and what we’re going through at this point in our lives. You can all it a sacrifice, the greater-good, a necessity, a surrender, all-part-of-the-plan, or even dumb-luck that I’m not working and staying at home caring for my daughter but I am happy to do it. I don’t resent not working or going along with this gender reversal notion of the man is the sole provider. My wife makes more money and enjoys doing what she’s doing as a profession more than I do or probably will ever can and as long as we’re both happy, comfortable and financially stable with our situation than I say it just makes sense for me to take the SAHD role. I’m not saying it’s an easy decision nor am I saying it’s always easy on my psyche that my wife is the sole provider but I will say that I am still proud (prouder) of the loving and supportive family we’ve built and that we continue to grow in that direction.