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The other night we had some friends over and my conservation side came out when I began cutting our large napkins in half. We were having dessert, and I thought the napkins were too big and it was a waste. My wife was appalled and demanded I stop immediately. Our friends thought it quite amusing.

It represented another time when our Oscar and Felix differences came out (referring to Oscar the slob and Felix the neatnik in Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple,” though we’re not near as extreme as those two). I’m mostly Oscar, the messy one, but also the one that is maybe overly budget conscious. My wife is Felix, the neat one, who may be a bit anal about it in my view (in hers, she’s already let go of most of her sense-of-order and cleanliness needs by living with 3 boys and 3 dogs–I’m considered one of the boys).

Being the stay-at-home Dad is supposedly accepted in our diverse and accepting culture where role reversal has become quite common. But, the reality is different, as this dad has experienced, especially when introducing a new women, my new wife, into the family. Who does what and what we expect from each other is often murkier in reality than in the latest issue of “O.”

In a nutshell, she goes to work; I stay home with the boys. I take them to school and deal with all their extra-curricular activities. I carry the larger load of discipline issues and I do the majority of the shopping. She takes care of the house and does most of the cooking and cleaning. I’m the biological parent; she’s the step. She teaches them manners; I teach them how to burp louder.

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Just A Guy, Oscar, Living With Felix

Just A Guy Dealing with a Slight Role Reversal