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FTCR

dbrigham
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A little after 6 this morning my wife and I awoke to a strange noise. Sounded like something, or someone, huffing, like the Big Bad Wolf. I got out of bed but as soon as I did, the noise stopped. Haven't figured out yet what it was.

Anyway, I couldn't get back to sleep, as my mind wandered. The term "stay-at-home dad" and the acronym SAHD popped into my head. I've never been completely comfortable with the term or the letters. I brainstormed briefly to come up with something I liked better. I thought back to an essay I wrote in the early days of this job I love so much. The concept of the brief article was that as parents we are really just roadies for our kids: we drive them around, we clean up after them, we cater to their every whim, we put them in front of their adoring fans as much as possible, etc. Then the term Full-Time Child Roadie, or FTCR, popped into my head. That's how I'm going to describe myself from now on.

Here's the article I wrote back in April 2003 for what was supposed to be a community web site for the neighborhood of Boston where I lived, but which turned out to be nothing of the sort, and the address is now for sale (has been for a few years). But at least they still have my articles available.

‹ Mother's Day gifts child bike seats ›

Submitted by dbrigham on Sat, 05/03/2008 - 5:16am.

Gaming with Baby
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I like Domestic Goddess.

-Will
gamingwithbaby.com | all your diapers are belong to us
my flickr


Sat, 05/03/2008 - 12:58pm

randyfielding
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No matter what job title you give me...

....the job description doesn't change. So, I could care less what I am called.

Randy
Cincinnati, OH
SAHD to Ryder (2 yrs)

Great spirits have always experienced violent opposition from mediocre minds. - Albert Einstein


Sat, 05/03/2008 - 6:46pm

brianc
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I can just see it...

Like the roadie at a rock concert...

...picture a video of a kid playing in his room. The video starts with a close up, panning wider. More of his room coming into view. The boy throws a favorite toy. It lands just out of reach and he gets a bit agitated. From a squatted position, almost hidden by the nightstand the FTCR dad dressed in black t-shirt with his "all access" lanyard dangling from his neck, comes bolting out from the left, picking up the toy, running over and handing it back to the boy and continuing on to the right to back a ready squatted position over by the bed, ready for the next near disaster.

I enjoyed your story on the FTCR and that is a good description of our job. Thanks for posting!

BrianC


Sat, 05/03/2008 - 7:26pm

dbrigham
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maybe someday

Maybe someday I'll be my son's real roadie. He's almost 6 and very into music. He loves to dial through my iPod and find all sorts of stuff. He and my wife just downloaded three songs from the Punk Farm web site. Pretty rockin'. He's into all sorts of indie stuff. My wife asked him today if he wanted to learn how to play the piano, since he's into music, but he said no. I reminded him that Santa had given him a guitar (child's version) for Christmas, and that if he liked, I'd fix it up (I bought him a First Act kid's guitar that is really a piece of crap and needs to have the action adjusted so the strings don't scrape and buzz on the frets) and teach him to play some chords. He said he'd be into that, so maybe some day I WILL be wearing that black t-shirt and following him around the stage, picking up his mic stands and inviting chicks backstage for him (Did I really just type that?)!

www.davebrigham.com


Sat, 05/03/2008 - 7:34pm

Uke_Skywalker
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Fergie has it right!!

I think "Trophy Husband" is a pretty inspired moniker, but then I also agree with randy and don't really give a hoot what people call me. In terms of music and kids, I found a website that I am using for Mackenzie's musical instruction,

http://ssrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/wdobson/article.html

Of course it is all about teaching the ukulele to kids but then coming from me, what would one expect.

db
Father of three,
Mac (6), Tavie(4), and Buddy(3)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Denver_Dad/


Sat, 05/03/2008 - 8:12pm

CiaAlum92
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DOMESTIC OVERLORD

Chef Kev
"I doodit myself Daddy"!!!!!
JPhillip said it, therefor it is, Chef= C=Caring, H=Helpful, E=Excellent, F=Fubar


Sat, 05/03/2008 - 11:36pm

dkremers_1965
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I'm With Randy on This One

I don't care what people call me...and as you can see from my blog address, I call me a SAHD. I just know what I'm doing is awesome and wouldn't trade it for anything (most of the time :).

Check out my ramblings on life at http://www.sahdguy.blogspot.com/


Mon, 05/05/2008 - 7:39am

dbrigham
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I like....

...Chef Kev's "Domestic Overlord."

I'll probably only pull out "Full-Time Child Roadie" once in a while. When people ask what I do, I usually just say, "I'm home full time with my kids" and the answer is almost universally, "That's great."

BTW, Brian, meant to say thanks for the nice comment on my story.

www.davebrigham.com


Mon, 05/05/2008 - 8:47am

brianc
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Cut from the same cloth?

Naw, that's not exactly it....Or would it be the in the same context?

Stay At-Home Dad, At-Home Dad, House Bitch, Domestic Goddess, Trophy Husband, Domestic Overlord... They are really one in the same, aren't they? Some more over the top than others, but they speak the same truth. I think it is safe to say we all wear all of those labels depending on the day, the situation or the mood and it will always come down to what Randy said.

"No matter what job title you give me...

....the job description doesn't change. So, I could care less what I am called."

Amen brother!

p.s. Your welcome Dave! It made me smile and reflect on the time with my kids too!


Mon, 05/05/2008 - 2:04pm

Itux
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Beyond Words

Existence is beyond the power of words to define:
Terms may be used but are none of them absolute.
In the beginning of heaven and earth there were no words,
Words come out of the womb of matter;
And whether we dispassionately see the surface, the core and the surface are essentially the same,
Words making them seem different only to express appearance.
If name be needed, wonder names them both:from wonder to wonder existence opens.
LAO-TSE

======================
Congregatio pro erudio et auxilium
Information Technology User X
Itux


Mon, 05/05/2008 - 9:01pm

Kirk
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High-falutin' Job Title

President of Domestic Operations and Juvenile Growth and Proliferation

**************************
My wife asked me if I had signed up for the 401k yet. I told her I hadn't. She asked me why and I told her I couldn't run that far.


Tue, 05/06/2008 - 8:52am

brianc
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Beyond Words...

Heavy stuff there. But true.

Without words we are empty and meaningless?

Thus the philosophical side (more mindless drivel?) of the At-Home Dad comes out on this board! I love this place!

Now, where are my kids?


Tue, 05/06/2008 - 9:27am

Gaming with Baby
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Forgot one

This is on my Facebook profile under Work Info:

Executive Director of Domestic Engineering

-Will
gamingwithbaby.com | all your diapers are belong to us
my flickr


Tue, 05/06/2008 - 9:39am

SugarMamasBoy
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Munchkin Hearder

I don't like SAHD or AHD because I don't stay home much with them and it does very little to sum a description of the role/job. A simple Full Time Parent or Full Time Dad works for me, although I like the others offered here also.


Tue, 05/06/2008 - 5:05pm

Cos
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 Joined: 2008-04-23
 Dad Points: 15
Sweet Juniper!

I've always gotten a kick out of Dutch from Sweet Juniper! having business cards made: Gentleman of Elegant Leisure


Tue, 05/06/2008 - 7:24pm

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