I want to be a stay-at-home dad.

TL;DR My wife and I are okay with me being a stay-at-home parent and we’re fairly confident we can afford it. I’m struggling emotionally with my worth regarding how much I’m contributing.Hi y’all! I’m decently new to reddit and like to lurk quite a bit. I’m not sure what exactly I’m looking for with posting this- I think I just need to get it off of my chest. I’m 32 and my wife is 29. We have two boys, 3 and 1, and they’re pretty rad. I went to cosmetology school in 2013 and graduated a month after our first son was born in 2014.My wife by that point had a salaried job with insurance and so it made more sense for me to find part time work while I built clientele and let her be the primary earner for the family. In the last few years she’s continued to make great progress at work and is moving up in her company. I, however, have felt more stagnant in my work. I spent a couple of years as a part-time stylist in a salon but it was ultimately not where I wanted to be. A year ago, I took a leap of faith and went to a barber shop in a straight commission position, just after my wife had our second son. With both of us working we obviously had to put the boys in daycare, which cost more than our mortgage. When we did the numbers after a year of working there, we realized that I contributed less than $200 a week after taxes, tithe, and childcare came out of my income. That was super depressing. I was considering whether or not I wanted to stay working where I was when I was pleasantly surprised to come in to the shop and learn that I was being let go. All of my stuff was in a box and that was it.This past week I’ve been trying to refocus and decide the next step for our family. I pulled he kids from daycare and immediately started saving a chunk of money each week. I genuinely enjoy watching the boys, cooking, doing laundry, taking the boys to visit mom periodically, and just generally feeling like things are under control at home. When we both work and when the kids are in daycare, I always feel like we’re rushing constantly but never making any progress when it comes to keeping up with household work. I’d love to stay home and just be a househusband, raise my kids, meal prep, etc....Here’s the issue: I live in Texas (hi y’all!) and it’s not exactly culturally popular here. At the end of the day I know it only matters what my wife and I decide, but it’s hard to lean into this decision knowing that we have family who will think less of me or that I’m going to get judgmental looks from people here. It’s hard to undo years of “the man is the provider” upbringing and I feel like I’m copping out by staying home.I don’t know if that’s clear enough. It’s a lot I know, and I’m sorry. I’m happy to clarify anything to anyone who bothered to read this far. Good night. via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2no1R3d