After their children were born, Lisa\u2019s husband, James, left his job and became a stay-at-home dad. But when Lisa notices significant changes in James\u2019 appearance, she wonders if something else is happening.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m Lisa, and I\u2019m a workaholic. But I\u2019m also a mom and a wife. My husband, James, is a stay-at-home dad, the backbone of our family.<\/p>\n
After our second child, Ezra, was born, James made the selfless decision to leave his job and take care of our children. It made sense because my career had begun to soar. And James was going through burnout.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just need some time to reevaluate my career,\u201d he said when he mentioned quitting his job and taking over the childcare.<\/p>\n
Lately, life has been a whirlwind, and the last few weeks have been especially tough for me \u2014 I\u2019ve been made partner at the legal firm I\u2019ve been at for years.<\/p>\n
And as much as I love my job, it has taken me away from my family.<\/p>\n
James, on the other hand, has thrived at being a stay-at-home dad. He does all the cooking and cleaning and has recently taken to baking fresh bread weekly.<\/p>\n
When my husband worked a regular 9-5 job, he spent his lunch hour at the gym where we met. But since he began staying home, James has given in to his lazy side, barely exercising, and gaining weight.<\/p>\n
Due to work, I barely have the energy to play with the kids at the end of the day.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, this has also started to spread to my relationship. James and I always talk, especially at night when we\u2019re having dinner, but I haven\u2019t been paying attention recently.<\/p>\n
So, yesterday evening, I got home exhausted. I just wanted to have a glass of wine and crawl into bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d James asked as I kicked off my shoes when I walked through the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just so tired,\u201d I said, tears threatening to escape.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome here,\u201d James said, wrapping me up in his arms.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when I felt the change \u2014 in that fleeting moment, I was shocked to see that he had lost weight. Beneath his oversized and faded t-shirt were the muscles I once knew.<\/p>\n
Surprised, I asked him about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t I tell you?\u201d he asked, walking me to the kitchen, where dinner was waiting. \u201cI\u2019ve been going to the gym just before fetching the kids from school. I just needed something new. Something different to focus on other than cutting fruit into stars.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, it\u2019s definitely paying off,\u201d I smiled at him.<\/p>\n
He smiled back and I noticed that his teeth were different too.<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry, love,\u201d he said. \u201cI think I forgot to tell you I went to the dentist. Remember when Ezra had that sore tooth, and I took him to the dentist? While waiting for him, I read through a pamphlet and decided to get in the chair myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
I was glad that James was taking time off for himself. But that quickly changed when loading laundry into the washing machine before bed.<\/p>\n
There was an unfamiliar perfume clinging to his clothes. I ignored it for a moment, not wanting to confront the possibility that my husband may be seeing someone else.<\/p>\n
But curiosity got the better of me when I picked up James\u2019 discarded jeans lying on the floor \u2014 there was a date and time written behind a business card.<\/p>\n
I got into bed, wondering what James was doing when I was at work.<\/p>\n
Unable to bear the uncertainty, I decided to follow him earlier today. I knew the time, thanks to the note. I followed my husband after he dropped the kids off at school, and found that he was going to a jewelry store.<\/p>\n
I watched him from my car, looking at his fitted shirt and jeans. He looked so much younger and as handsome as the day I\u2019d met him.<\/p>\n
James walked into the store, and a brunette appeared. She reached out and held onto his arm.<\/p>\n
A conclusion already formed in my mind \u2014 my husband was cheating on me with this woman.<\/p>\n
The rest of the day passed in a blur, and I couldn\u2019t wait to get home and confront him. A part of me blamed myself. Surely, I had a small part to play \u2014 I was always absent, so maybe James had found solace in someone else.<\/p>\n
But when I walked into the house, nothing unfolded as planned. The kids were at James\u2019 sister\u2019s house. And the husband I was suspecting of infidelity was sitting on the couch with a massive bouquet of flowers. He jumped up when I walked into the living room and knelt before me.<\/p>\n
\u201cLisa Mary Green, will you marry me again?\u201d he asked, his eyes shining.<\/p>\n
Teary-eyed and confused, I confessed everything. James laughed, unable to fathom that I thought he was cheating.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat woman is Maxine. She works at the store and gets a commission whenever someone buys something. So, best believe, she was trying to get me to buy everything,\u201d he laughed.<\/p>\n
He admitted feeling that he wasn\u2019t the man I had fallen in love with \u2014 and he thought I had thrown myself into work because I wasn\u2019t attracted to him anymore.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never stopped loving you, James,\u201d I said. \u201cOf course, I\u2019ll marry you again!\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u2019m in bed now, lying next to my husband, who has put so much effort into himself, for me, and I\u2019m scrolling through Pinterest for wedding vow renewal ideas.<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t be happier.<\/p>\n
Do you have a similar story to share?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After their children were born, Lisa\u2019s husband, James, left his job and became a stay-at-home dad. But when Lisa notices significant changes in James\u2019 appearance, she wonders… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n