About

My name is Greg, and Philosophy of Dad is the chronicling of my life as a husband, and stay-at-home parent. Traditionally, the house belonged to the moms. I know it did when I was growing up. Well, I’m here to tell you that this is no longer the case—at least for me. And you know something? I think that’s pretty cool.

Over the past eighteen years, I’ve been able to uncover the what and why of my life with varying degrees of luck. Professionally, I had some great jobs, and worked for some great people, but I couldn’t generate much in terms of long-term excitement for what I was doing. I would get bored, leadership would change, I’d feel restless. Whatever the case, I never found it. Truth be told, I’ve experienced four different stints of unemployment, all before the age of thirty-five. Geez, that sounds bad. And, at times, I suppose it kind of was.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom, though. My personal life was great! After a slow start in the romance department, I was lucky to meet my wife-to-be in 2011, and get married in 2014. Then, we welcomed our first child in 2016. Along the way, I picked up many of the domestic duties. I did the bulk of the cleaning, most of the cooking, a lot of the shopping, most of the laundry, and took care of a good chunk of the child care. Some of it was because I had more time at home per my aforementioned existential troubles. Still, some of it was due to the fact that I liked doing (at least some of) that stuff.

Later, in 2017, I responded to an open call for freelance writers posted by a former Northwestern student of mine at Chowhound. I had no freelance experience. Or portfolio. Or writing samples. I just loved food, and had something to say about it. So, I crafted a piece, and a few pitches, and sent them over. Within a few days, my freshly written writing sample was purchased, along with a couple more pitches. Then, I thought to myself, “Wow, I can’t believe someone thought my writing was good enough to buy!” Since that time, I’ve written a bunch for Chowhound, and, after a while, started to wonder, “How can I do more of this?”

With lots of encouragement from my wife, I began to think seriously about writing about my experiences as a homemaking husband. But, of course, the doubt started up. What if no one reads it? Will anyone care? What if I’m not really that great a writer? What if I don’t have anything to say? It took a while to commit, but I finally did (duh), and here we are. I’m not sure I’ve got the what and why of my life figured out just yet. Maybe it’s to be a husband and father who manages the home, and writes about it. Really, who’s to say that can’t be it? So, I’m giving it a go! 

It’s my hope that I offer a compelling, funny, insightful, and helpful take on managing the responsibilities of a spouse or partner, parent, and homemaker. Additionally, I want to build an online community of others trying to do the same. I don’t have any shortcuts, secret potions, or magic elixirs. I’m just a guy with a perspective who thinks we can, together, take on our respective responsibilities at home a bit more confidently, optimistically, and satisfyingly.

Thanks for stopping by, and welcome to the Philosophy of Dad community!