My Daddy Raised Me

Did your mom stay home and raise you as a child? My mom didn't...because she had to work. That's just the way it was. And although I think the situation I grew up with (two working parents) is more common these days, I do find a lot of people who still say that they had a mom at home...or a dad, while growing up.

I actually did have my dad at home for a couple of years. He worked the graveyard shift as a security guard when I was a little girl, so he technically was a mistermom who didn't go to work until around 9pm. But can you imagine a Latino daddy raising a little girl by himself? 

Put it this way, for about 2 years of my life I lived on hot dogs wrapped with tortillas, canned beans, and macaroni and cheese. Dessert was jello. We spent a lot of time watching television (he napped through most of it), and I spent most of the day wearing a pair of shorts with no shirt on...cus that's what daddy wore.

I'm actually cracking up thinking about my dad back then. He really tried hard to be a good "mom". He might not have been master chef, but he definitely knew how to comb my hair. He would start with a fine tooth comb, dip it in some water, then smooth my hair all the way back into a ponytail. And when I say smooth, I mean smooth...as in, I swear he used some Tres Flores on it when he was done. Slick and shiny.

Day time activities included visiting the duck pond and feeding them bread (good job dad), walking around flea markets (that's kind of weird), "cruising" (I kid you not), and flirting with random women like bank tellers (he was a casanova and HATED when I told my mom about it. Ha!). 

So while my dad did a decent job at raising me, I can't help, but wonder what would be best for my future children. Should I stay home or at least recruit a mistermom to stay home with the babies? Or is it okay to get a nanny? 

Ultimately, I want to hold down a job and be a mom. That's why my plan is this: I'll be a freelance writer (so I'm home) with a nanny who helps me two or three times a week. Not sure if that will be an option, but it sounds good, right? 

Here's the thing--I don't want my kids to be raised by someone else...or worse, raise themselves. I feel like too much can go wrong when you aren't home with them and I want to try to be there for their first big steps--first word, crawling, walking...all the cute stuff.

Oh the decisions.