Jackson Free Press

I have worked a few jobs over my lifetime. They all had their moments that made me want to run away screaming, but my current job is the hardest I've had yet.

Being a writer has nothing on being a stay-at-home dad. I didn't know what being tired at the end of day was like until I started staying home with my daughter.

She's like a little ball of pure energy that hits the ground running at the crack of dawn every day. She doesn't stop unless it's time to eat or change her diaper.

We spend our mornings playing, reading, watching her shows and doing her favorite thing: wrestling with Daddy. I spend more hours than I can count being pushed to the ground and jumped on by nearly 30 pounds of dead weight.

Like any true wrestler, my daughter has learned the uses of smack talk—OK, mostly inaudible babble due to excitement—and the use of foreign objects. She isn't afraid to grab a book or toy and go to town on Daddy in her quest to win a mythical championship belt that only exists between her and me—and that she already owns.

In reality, no daddys get hurt when we wrestle, and she does more hugging and kissing than actually trying to win our matches.

Every day after lunch, I make my biggest mistake—I let her have a nap. While I continue to work around the house or outside, she just recharges that energy that she will use against me in the afternoon.

Afternoons are filled with snack time and more playing. It also comes with watching "The Wiggles." I now know most of the songs and even find myself singing a lot of them while I'm doing work around the house.

You might never feel more embarrassed than finding your wife behind you while you are dancing and singing the "Hot Dog" dance from "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" while you wash dishes at night. My wife has caught me songs from shows such as "Dora the Explorer" to "Doc McStuffins" to "Sofia the First."

My wonderful wife takes over with our daughter after she comes home, but the day doesn't end for me. I switch gears as I make dinner, and then clean up and help my wife get our little wild thing ready for bed. By the end of the night, I am worn out, but I love every minute of the day.

Being a stay-at-home dad is without question the hardest job I've ever had in my life, and it's also the most rewarding job and the most important one I will ever do.

I salute all dads for Father's Day, but I give a special nod to us stay-at-home dads trying to conquer a strange but wonderful new world.