Half of One

Given how independent and introverted we both are, it should not be surprising to you that Amy and I have a relatively distinct division of labor as parents. Most of the things you need to do to run a household with little kids are the exclusive domain of one of us, rather than fairly equally shared. Consider:

Activities - Amy takes the kids to all the health-related stuff (doctor's appointments, therapy sessions, evaluations), I take them to all the fun stuff (zoo, museum, downtown)

Administrative - Amy handles all insurance stuff, I handle all financial stuff

School - Amy takes Jada, I take Aaron

House - Amy does all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, and related purchases; I tend to big projects and the exterior

Shifts - Amy's the main evening person, I'm the main morning person

Leisure - Amy buys clothes and toys, I'm the family social coordinator

When circumstances require that one of us temporarily take on the other's typical tasks - say, I'm out of town, or Amy has class, or one of us is sick - we feel the burden in two ways. First, the extra work. But second, that the extra work is stuff we've largely punted to the other person, and so we're just not nearly as good, and the task not nearly as easy, when we're stuck with it.

Needless to say, parenting is quite an endeavor. As half of one unit, I'm increasingly thankful for my other, better half.