I had a chance to meet Scott Bennet in person for the first time in the summer of 2012. Previously, I had only read some of his posts on his blog Arden's Day about the life of Arden, his daughter who lives with type 1 diabetes. When I met him, I felt an immediate connection to him, as if I had known him for a very long time. And having just finished his book "Life Is Short, Laundry Is Eternal: Confessions of a Stay-at-Home Dad" I can see why.
Scott's first book (being such a great writer, I sure hope it's only his first!) is so chock full of moments you cannot avoid but smile at, think through, and cry to, as he describes the innermost details of his life as a stay-at-home dad. He exhibits the courage to bare his soul every bit as much as he makes you crack up with his brilliant humor. When you think you've read the best of the book, he hits a home run taking a powerful stance on the role of men in families today, and how we can sometimes take a position towards certain chores in family life (from sports to laundry), that unknowingly perpetuates a cycle that we really need to be contributing to break.
Scott's wisdom shines even more as he dives into the moments leading up to Arden's diagnosis, through their first few years with her living with diabetes, and how it fundamentally changed everything they believed to be ready for in their lives as parents. He writes:
"I don't need more than four, maybe five, hours of sleep a night and the hours don't have to be consecutive. The only thing that matters is that Arden's blood glucose doesn't drop so low overnight that she dies in her sleep."
What Scott leaves you with in the end is a contagious sense that, in spite of all odds (having your adoptive father leave you, working through crappy jobs, receiving the terrible news about one of your children having a serious chronic condition)… you really can be happy anywhere. As Scott says:
"you can choose to stand in [a sad state of mind] or walk forward and leave it behind."
So, run (don't walk) and order (or pre-order, if it's not April 2, 2013 -when it becomes available) "Life Is Short, Laundry Is Eternal: Confessions of a Stay-at-Home Dad." You will be glad you did!