As we begin, I thought it
would be a good idea to introduce my partner on my journey into The Second
Half. Henceforth, for purposes of this blog, my husband shall be known as OG
(short for Old Goat – his appellation, not mine).
OG and I have been married
nearly thirty years and have been true partners in every sense of the word. Our
road has had its bumps and bends as most do, but we’ve stuck it out together
and are genuinely looking forward to spending more time in each other’s company.
We are the parents of a wonderful twenty-six year-old daughter who is the light
of our lives but is now ready to spread her wings and start living her
life—leaving us free to devote more time to building our own.
One unusual characteristic
of our marriage is the fact that OG and I have never been employed full time
simultaneously since our daughter was born (which begs the corollary--we've never been at home at the same time either). I took the first eight years of her
life off to stay home, and then we switched places.
OG has shown unflagging
support during the recent disintegration of my career, being no stranger to
untenable work situations himself. In order to remain employed while I stayed
home, he was forced to change jobs several times as employer after employer
shut down, was sold, or left town. Ultimately, we moved to the Twin Cities when
there was no work left to be had in Kansas
City
Our neighborhood is
currently teeming with fathers who gather at the school bus stops in the
morning dressed in jeans, clutching coffee mugs and chatting with each other
after their children depart. However, eighteen years ago it was cutting edge.
These men may work at home today, but OG’s job could only be done in an office.
So for years he gamely drove missed lunches up to school and responded to calls
from the nurse’s office, shopped for groceries and did the laundry.
