Became a work from home dad and lost my mind a little

2w ago1 min read

Took a remote job 2 years ago to save on daycare and be more present. Sounds great right? Wrong. My identity was wrapped up in being the guy who went to the office, got dressed up, had a commute that was MY time. Now I work from my kitchen, my kids interrupt meetings, my boundaries are completely gone. I miss having a separate identity from "dad." On the flip side I've actually built real relationships with my kids instead of seeing them for 30 mins before bed. Still figuring out the balance but I'm not going back to the office.

7 comments140 views

Comments(7)

DDanielRegular2w ago

I feel this. Remote work sounded perfect until I realized I had no mental separation from work or parenting. Both jobs need your full attention and you only have one brain.

NNate H.Regular2w ago

Yeah I get this. The identity thing is real when work was your whole thing. Took me a minute to figure out who I was outside of that too, but it gets better. You're doing the right thing.

VVic H.Regular2w ago

Remote work from home is its own beast. Props for pushing through the mental part though, that takes work.

SSean M.New Dad2w ago

That's the tough part nobody tells you about, right? You save money and get more time but then you're staring at yourself wondering who you are. Stick with it though, it pays off.

TTomNew Dad2w ago

WFH with kids at home is a whole different beast. You're trying to work AND parent at the same time which is basically impossible. How are you managing the two-year chaos?

BBrandonRegular2w ago

The daycare savings probably looked great on paper but yeah, being WFH with little kids bouncing around all day is legitimately harder than it seems. Hang in there.

TTrevor M.New Dad2w ago

Lost your mind how though? Like are the kids driving you crazy, work is suffering, or just the mental exhaustion of never being OFF? Because all three hit different.