Hello Internet,
In the last post, I had mentioned that I will be staying home as a house husband for the foreseeable future. This means that I will be spending a lot of time at home writing, which also means that this blog is basically my connection to the greater world at large. That is not to say that I have no friends, but this will be taking the place of work, hich is where an introvert like me gets a lot of my socializing, as it were.
As is implied by my being a househusband, however, I do have a family that will be brought up in the following posts. Some of these posts will be quite personal, detailing personal failings or struggles that I am having. If I am to do this right, I honestly think that a certain amount of transparency must be accounted for, which is why I think it is also prudent to take hte time to introduce my family to you.
There will be no photos of them, nor will I use their real names. My wife has made a point that she does not really want to be online and, while she does make vague efforts to stay connected for work, she enjoys her privacy. I also enjoy my privacy and, personally, I believe that my daughter’s privacy should be theirs to keep until they are old enough to make their own decisions on the matter.
For those reasons, I will not be using real names when speaking of my family. Instead, I will be referring to them by pet names modeled after (mostly) animals. These are little inside jokes which I may or may not explain. I’m not sure. I’ll just write and see where I land on it when the time comes.
My family is made up of four people right now, with one incubating. Those family members are: me, my wife, my oldest daughter, my youngest daughter, and my unborn wife. Allow me to introduce you to each of us. Before we go, bare in mind that these profiles I am creating are products of my perception and do not reflect reality as reality reflects itself. They are my understanding of the thing, not the thing’s own understanding of it.
Firstly, hi, I’m RWS. You can also call me Jacob, though I am more comfortable with RWS at this point in our relationship. No offense. My personal pronouns are any/all, though I do often identify myself as both a father and a husband. I could be described as male-presenting, though that is more a byproduct of my hobo-chic aesthetic and the pride I take in the role I fill for my family and my wife.
I am a writer by interest, an educator by training, and a nurturer by instinct. The decision to make me into a full-time house husband was one of necessity and personal interest. I enjoy working at home and enjoy keeping the house nice and clean for my family, and I also enjoy the time that I can take to write and tell stories. My wife is the first person to truly believe in me and my skills and is my personal hero for that and many other things. I am family-oriented and some might even call me creative, though I do not know if my low self-esteem would ever allow the compliment.
My wife is called Noodle. This is because she tall and kind of wiggly, and also because she’s entirely composed of flour-based pasta. She is a high school science teacher and identifies, to my knowledge, as female. She is also easily the strongest person I know, and while I call her resilient, I do not mean it as the insult it sometimes means. She has suffered trauma and hurt and too many betrayals by people she ought to have been able to trust for me to keep proper count, but she still saw me and trusted me. In fact, she chose me, for whatever reason, and pursued me with a vigor that I would come to learn that she pursues all things. When Noodle wants something, Noodle makes sure that she gets it, and her sheer, relentless willpower inspires and awes me every day. She is the best person I know, my best friend, and also the person I most look up to, and every moment I spend with her, even in the toughest of times, only makes me love her more.
We have been married for nearly four years now, and we also have two children, both daughters. They are both named for animals. At first, the names were random, but I have found that over time, the two of them have begun to take on traits of those animals in a sort of poetic serendipity. My oldest is Squirrel and my youngest Monkey.
Squirrel is tall and skinny with a twitchy, neurotic personality. She is very creative, extremely precise, and has no filter on her feelings. A lot of what we do with her is finding ways to reward her enthusiasm and excitement while also trying to temper her expectations. If she knows there is a surprise to be had, she will imagine the surprise in detail and be disappointed if it is not an exact recreation of her expectation. Her sadness is as big as the ocean and just as deep, and her joy is as bright and blinding as the son. She is a little wunderkind, and we’re lucky to have her.
Monkey is far more tactile. She hasn’t taken to words like her sister, but she does a good job with what she has. Where her sister uses a lot of words, Monkey uses fewer words but with greater accuracy. She is physical and silly but also quick to anger. Her greatest joy in life is to poke buttons, but she doesn’t always like when that has negative consequences, and she is always trying to stir the pot, though I don’t think she knows exactly why. She just likes the chaos it brings. She is a ornery, and clever, and a bit of a baby, and she is happy to just be along for the ride.
Lastly, we have a third child on the way, which is actually why I have this year off to write. Right now, my wife is gestating and is only a few weeks away from giving birth. While we have yet to meet our little Kangaroo, we have an idea of who he will be. So far, he is restless like I was and seems to like the sound of our voices. We talk to him every night, and I nibble his toes through my wife’s stomach while I am waiting. It’s difficult, because I don’t want to project stories onto him. It’s important with child, before and after they are born, to be given the canvas to paint who they will be, because sometimes when you give them the lines to fill it, it can be frustrating for them when who they are requires them to color outside.
We also used ot have another family member, a furry one. His name was Jet, and he was and is, without a doubt, the good-est boy. He passed only a few months ago, and Squirrel and I are still torn up about it. This last week in particular has been difficult as I keep thinking about how I will never get to pet him again.
I love you, Jet, and I always will.
That is my family. I am fortunate to have them and proud of them every day, even when I am frustrated, angry, or tired with/of them. Thank you, all of you, for being with me and helping me heal. You are the best parts of me, and I am so glad to have chosen you over everything else in my life.
Thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
RWS
P.S.
Books
0. Main: the Giver by Lois Lowry
One Piece Vol. 85, Ch. 854: “What Are You Doing?”—858 50% (6—10)
1. Sun: Boruto Vol. 4, Ch. 14: “Teamwork!!”-15 50% (3–4)
2. Mon: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Vol. 2, Ch.11: “Suggestion”-16 11% (4–9)
3. Tue: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 3: Stardust Crusaders Vol. 1, Ch. 10: “Tower of Gray’”-13 30% (9–13)
4. Wed: My Hero Academia Vol. 9, No. 74: “Smoke Signal”-71 0% (–)
5. Thu: One-Punch Man Vol. 9, Punch 45: “Hero Hunting”-46.1 73% (9–11)
6. Fri: My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Vol. 4, Ep. 23: “Daughter”-26 50% (5–8)
7. Sat: (Fan Fiction) Final Fantasy: Fated bytinygaia Ch. 80% (41—50)
8. Squirrel: One Piece Vol. 17 Ch. 148—155
Reading Order:
-Fiction: Pyramids by Terry Pratchett 100%
-Library: Trans Medicine: The Emergence and Practice of Treating Gender by Stef M. Shuster 100% (–)
-YA: The Giver by Lois Lowry 32% (59–179)
-DnD5e: Player’s Handbook by Wizards of the Coast 0% (0–?)
-Non-Fiction: Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat 0% (0–?)
View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman 26% (130–502)
—Reread—
Games
0. Main: .hack//MUTATION
1. Sun1:
Final Fantasy X-2 HD Remaster 25% (13/52hrs)
2. Mon: Omega Quintet 0% (0/47hrs)
3. Tue: DnD5e
4. Wed: Dragon Age: Origins Kallian Tabris 14% (10/74hrs)
5. Thu: Movie
6. Fri: God of War ?% (??/33hrs)/One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 0% (0/35hrs)
—Series—
—.hack//—
7. Sat: Xenogears 9% (6/66hrs)
8. Freeplay: .hack//MUTATION 83% (36/50hrs(19/23hrs))
Shows
0. Main: Batman: The Animated Series
1. Critical Role: Campaign 2: “Rebirth” 98% (139—141)
2. Anime: Dragon Ball The General Blue Saga 92% 57—57 (12—12)
3. Owned: Digimon: Adventure Myotismon Arc 0% 21–28 (1–8)
4. Netflix: Moving Pictures Season 3 17% (2—6)
Seven Deadly Sins Season 1 8% (3–24)
5. Disney+: Star Wars: Visions 56% (6–9)
6. HBO: Batman 45% (15–31)
7. Critical Role Campaign 2 15—17 82%
Moon Knight 17% (2–6)
Movies: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Firefly 14% (3—14)
