Stay-At-Home
Parenting through a Pandemic
Stay at home! It was what every reputable news outlet was telling us. Everyone was forced into this, but before the Coronavirus, some of us chose this. While the world reeled from lockdown orders and people were asked to stay at home and socially distance, for a silent minority of us, nothing changed…that much. Some people went stir crazy, others learned a new language or how to play the guitar, others got back in shape. Our jobs just got a whole lot harder.
Our jobs just got a whole lot harder. We are the stay-at-home parents
A lot of families don’t have the luxury of deciding on one person to stay home with the kids. But wherever you fall on the parenting/work spectrum, you are all superheroes in my book. Day-in and day-out, all our time goes to those precious kiddos, with hopes that we can sneak in a shower or sit down for 10 minutes. You and I both know this rarely happens. I have two little boys, if it’s not dangerous or if they’re not breaking something, it’s not fun.
The Lockdown
The coronavirus pandemic has been hard on everyone. We’ve lost jobs, loved ones, our savings, maybe our homes. But behind our healthcare workers, parents are heroes in all this (yes, I may be biased). When schools closed, we became teachers. When we couldn’t go outside or to the park, we became activity coordinators. When we couldn’t get a straight message about COVID, we became epidemiologists. All of this wasn’t for our wellbeing, it was for our children. We have been the wall that the full force of this pandemic has broken against so we can shelter our children the best we can.
And despite the yo-yo of schools opening and closing again, half-hearted relief from the government, or getting dangerously sick with COVID, we are hell bent on making this season the least traumatic as possible for our kids.
I’m a stay-at-home dad. And even before COVID, it was still the hardest job I’ve ever had. At first I was self-conscious about it. When people would ask me what I did for a living, I would tell them about my past career. Simultaneously, I would struggle with not feeling successful at my current job as a parent. I would even feel guilty if I got an hour to myself to go surfing. I felt as if I wasn’t working hard enough. What other job demands your undivided attention every waking hour of every day of every week in the year? I needed to learn to cut myself some slack.
Last year both of my boys were in school. Well, preschool and kindergarten, but finally I had some precious hours to myself again. Then…lockdown. Back to the grind. I am a stay at home dad, but I also started to write these things I call Dad Guides. I had an idea, that came from necessity. The idea was to break down complicated and somewhat inaccessible concepts into a short 30 minute read that give you, the reader, a starting point and tangible action steps. Because isn’t that what we all need right now? And I started with a huge technological and financial breakthrough that is happening today, but only benefiting a small amount of people… Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
If you think that’s something only hackers, gamers, and criminals use, I was right there with you. If you think you need a degree in computer science or finance to understand it, let me reiterate, I am a stay-at-home dad with a Biology degree from University of San Diego (Go Toreros!) But if you want to learn more, but you don’t have an extra two or more hours in the day to read a dense book about blockchain technology; If you like learning from people who have tried, failed, tried again and don’t profess to be an expert, you are my people! If you have heard about rising Bitcoin prices in the news and think “I could never get involved in that” YAMP! (I just made up that acronym).
The world of cryptocurrency and blockchain is about to change everything — think smartphones and social media, or Amazon and Apple pre-2000. It has the potential to revolutionize and democratize the banking and financial world and everyone should be able to be a part of it. I write about things that anyone would find interesting, like how Bitcoin is a 1000 year-old idea. Or things everyone needs to know, like how you could be earning close to 10% interest in a crypto based saving account. Yes, that figure is accurate! The average bank savings rate is 0.01%, that’s not just a little better, it is 1000x better!
I don’t write to be rich and famous, my guides cost less than a cup of coffee. I write because I want everyone to benefit from this advancing new technology. So if you have questions, email me. I promise to answer. If you’ve been wanting to learn about Bitcoin and crypto for a while, my books are short and easy to read. I’m not gonna cram in an extra 250 pages when all you want to do is drink a beer and watch your favorite show once the kids are finally asleep (wait, maybe that is just what I want to do).
If you’re like me and struggling through this pandemic, if you’re weary from holding the weight of it so your kids can continue to be kids, if you feel stuck because other people’s careers are advancing, or trying to stretch every paycheck out till the next one, You are my people, you are the superheroes! I write Dad Guides for you, and I hope you enjoy them.
