Stigma

For generations, there has been a stigma that men must be the providers for their families.  It hasn't been till the last couple decades that it's become more accepted that a woman could be the one to bring in more money for the family.

I grew up in a house with a stay-at-home mom.  My husband was the same way.  Our upbringing, made me think that when my husband lost his source of income and I got a job and became the provider, that he would be upset, depressed, or feel "less manly" because of the change in work / income status.  However, shortly after he left home for college his mom started to work outside the home and he has an Uncle that stayed home with his boys while his wife worked outside of the home.

Perhaps knowing that made it less painful.  All I know is that to my surprise (and probably his a little bit too), he's enjoyed the time he's been able to spend with our kids.  It's also given him the opportunity to discover talents he didn't know he had or would like: cooking, teaching, and cleaning at the top of the list.

Although he's enjoyed this time at home, I could tell he really wanted an adult project to work on.  I remember the feeling well.  I remember feeling so useful and productive when I was doing the accounting work for the company my husband and his brother started years ago.  When that work went away, I missed the "adult" aspect of my life.

So when my husband was contacted by someone asking if he wanted to work on a project I wasn't even a little bit surprised that he said yes.  I also wasn't surprised that he wound up working on it night and day till the last minute trying to make things as perfect as they could be.  Nor was I surprised, that although he was operating on about as much sleep as a mother of a nursing newborn,  he was excited and eager to get up the day of his meeting.

So how did it go?  Well, on the way there a deer jumped out in front of his car and it was snowing and sleeting (the big reasons we moved to Florida).  In fact, I got a text from him letting me know that Virginia welcomed him back with open arms by trying to kill him.

The meeting itself went much better.  Do they have a signed contract?  No.  But they do want him to add a few features to the product and come back in a few weeks to install a demo.  Considering that's how he got his last big client, he has a pretty good chance of this working.