Guilt, Music, and the Naming of Dad Cooks Bacon.

The story of how this blog got its name involves guilt, my favorite band and a light bulb moment.

First, The Guilt

When Lindsay and I first discussed me staying home with the kids, it was an obvious decision. The decrease in my income working from home was much less than the cost of daycare. It was simple fifth grade math.

While the math was easy, the emotional and metal side of the decision was more complicated than I expected.

Early on, I was having a rough time accepting my new role. I grew up envisioning myself as the breadwinner for my family, so passing off primary responsibility to “bring home the bacon” was tough on my macho sense of self.

Then, The Song

As if the guilt wasn’t enough, it’s amazing how the Universe seems to fill our minds with additional information to reinforce our struggles or beliefs.

For me, this came in the form of a song from my favorite band, Red Wanting Blue. The song is called Drawing Board and opens with the following lyrics:

Omelets require eggs
To be broken
Songs require words
To be spoken
Ghosts require the dead
To awaken. And…
Success requires one of us
Bring home the bacon

—RED WANTING BLUE

With the state I was in, the last two lines were like a punch to the gut. I wasn’t bringing home the bacon and therefore was not a success.

Finally, The Light Bulb Moment

Though I had listened to the song dozens of times before, one afternoon I was struck with a detail that I had completely overlooked.

“Success requires one of us”

One. Not both.

One of us needed to bring home the bacon and my wife was doing a damn fine job. My responsibility, as the chef in the house, was to cook the bacon.

Though it didn’t completely cure my bruised ego, adding  “and someone to cook it” to the lyrics each time did make me feel better. After all, I was contributing to the success of our family. Lindsay’s role was to bring home the bacon, and mine was to cook it.

A few years later, Dad Cooks Bacon is finally being shared with the world.

Be sure to check out Red Wanting Blue on their website. I think you will like them!

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