"I was born and raised on a farm in Ohio. My mother was a stay-at-home mom who raised me, my sister, and my cousins. I spent every summer after the age of 8 working full-time with my father’s construction company which taught me a lot about hard work, but since my father was a workaholic it was not a healthy environment for kids. I grew up in a very dysfunctional family with no examples of good parenting or marriage. As a little kid with no self-esteem, I became a target and was abused by our parish priest. As most survivors do, I kept my abuse secret and tried my best to mask it with drinking and other substances. I moved to Arizona at 19 and met my future wife. At that time having family was the furthest thing from my mind. We lived in Tucson where she went to college and I started a pool business service and retail store. Once she gave birth to our first child we made the choice to move up north and live self-sustainability, off-grid. I sold my business, bought a Toyota dolphin RV, and 20 acres of land. We lived in the RV while my wife worked from a laptop and I looked after our son and worked on building a home. It was slow and difficult, especially while watching a toddler. Many times I’d catch him dropping rocks into buried pipes and the like. I wish they made a front baby carrier with a tool belt. My father flew up for a week and helped me get the framing up, and after 3 years of building we moved out of the RV and into our home, it was surreal. We got a couple solar panels, batteries and a windmill, all a learning experience. After hauling water from town, 30 minutes away, for 3 years we put in a very welcomed well and having running water felt like hitting the lotto. Potty training a toddler to use an outhouse was...interesting.After finally coming forward about my past to my wife, my life was forever changed. Through the mercy of God, I was able to stop drinking and get clean. The Church and family became very important. Everyone jokes that there is no manual on parenting, but I feel like those of us who couldn’t even look to their own childhood for a starting point really is a “from scratch” approach. I am now looking after a 7 year old, 1 1/2 year old and 6 month old. I live in a very rural area and the whole stay-at-home dad thing is not accepted. I have to hear all kinds of put-downs which can really add to an already thankless job. My counselor found The National At-Home Dad Network and I went to the online convention. It was a game-changer. It was shocking to me to see so many other full-time fathers and be able to share struggles and triumphs together. I go to survivors support groups and I’ve been to 12 step programs, but I never thought that help was available as a stay-at-home dad. I took so much away from DadCon@Home; a lot of notes but more importantly, permanent changes in my daily routine. Thank you guys for all the time and energy you put into the network and convention, it is very much appreciated!"