Scenesters Settling Down....

There seems to be a new phenomenon among scenester couples and how they raise their children…that is, the stay-at-home hip-daddy. These are the new breed of “artistic” fathers (men who never really had a substantial, regular job to begin with), who are now “making time” to bring up baby. My brother-in-law fits into this category, and apparently he knows many other men who are dedicating their time to this—some of his scenester friends. When I hear that term, “scenester,” my brother-in-law and his wife are the first people who pop into my head. Consider this…he is a rock musician in a band that was once pretty major in the Portland Indie music scene (now he lives in Minneapolis, so the recording process is much slower). But that’s only one of his projects. He now mainly works as an Indie producer, but at one time played in as many as 4 different bands all at once (one of which was a “concept” band that played rocked-up, very silly, sea shanties, and was actually really funny…I guess it’s a Portland thing). My sister-in-law is a very successful fashion designer who gets to travel all over the world for her job…Paris, London, Hong Kong, Tokyo…you name it. They own two well-maintained muscle cars (well, maybe only one at present), live in a Ranch House that has a wood-paneled basement featuring a full-size bar, regularly attend Coachella, and wouldn’t be caught dead at the latest, trendy night spot (they’re always hanging out at the next, trendy night spot).

So, the thing is, now that my brother-in-law has recently become a full-time childcare provider, how is he enjoying life? “I’m pretty tied-down…” (No kidding! Really?) I imagine he and his hip-daddy friends spend the day watching each other change diapers while comparing Emitt Rhodes on CD versus Emitt Rhodes on vinyl (“everyone knows that vinyl gives a much, much fuller sound”). Now I fear that my very own husband would like to take on this career…. And that’s because he’s mentioned it (I responded with, “Don’t you remember that talk we had about the importance of you holding a real, paying job?”) I, personally, am in no rush to have children, and because my younger brother started very early and already has what I consider a large clan, I am getting no pressure from my family to give birth.

Anyway, call me old-fashioned, but I think I’d prefer to put my future child(ren) into daycare. Hip-Daddies scare me.