[hedgetrimmer]

You don't get to mother your children either. Many many women I know that worked and were unable to spend much time with their children regret it very much. You don't notice how much you've missed until the children are graduating from high school. You will hear them reminisce about childhood experiences as they ready for college or to leave home, and you will not be part of them. That HURTS.

[Z in Oregon]

You don't notice how much you've missed until the children are graduating from high school. You will hear them reminisce about childhood experiences as they ready for college or to leave home, and you will not be part of them. That HURTS.

I've hear exactly that from countless guys who went the sole provider route. Yet, they all worry that they aren't supposed to feel all that...even though they definitively do.

[Morrigan]

Naturally, I wish that I could stay home with my kids, and in a perfect world, I would. We just can't afford it. My husband didn't and wouldn't (with his blue collar skills) be able to support us as well as I can.

I go to work early in the morning so I can get home around three thirty. At that point, I take over. I have weekends off, too, so I take over at that point, as well.

However, working and supporting my family is not only rewarding to them, but it is rewarding for me as well. I feel that we are giving our kids the best of both worlds--they can look to me as an example of how someone should provide for their family, and they can look to Dad as an example of how someone should care for their family.

[ContraryMary]

You don't get to mother your children either. Many many women I know that worked and were unable to spend much time with their children regret it very much. You don't notice how much you've missed until the children are graduating from high school. You will hear them reminisce about childhood experiences as they ready for college or to leave home, and you will not be part of them. That HURTS.

To each his own. What works for one family doesn't necessarily work for others. My kids went through the daycare experience. It worked for us. My husband and I have had our own unique challenges, but we've met and dealt with each one. You have to be flexible and adaptable.