Paternity Envy

Yes I have paternity envy. Not what you'd think it to be exactly, not totally envious that he doesn't have to have swollen feet and difficulty breathing, but envy over his paternity leave. Why is it that I don't get 1 single paid day of leave while my husband gets 12 weeks paid leave? It's because they're giving him a week for every year he's been with the company and he's been there 10. Then, they're giving him 2 additional weeks if he agrees to come in a few times a week and make sure things are going smoothly since he is the only person in his position at work and the place can't quite run without him. As for my own lack of leave, I can only blame myself for switching jobs so often, but I can't help feeling there is something wrong with this picture.

Of course I'm excited for myself to quit working for a while--a few months off is what we've saved up for because I can't bear the thought of leaving my infant in day care so I can go to work. But somehow the HB's 3 month paternity leave still makes me jealous even though it's great for him. The truth is, I want him around to help and to be with me and hopefully we can find time to do some fun things together too during that leave. But with the notion of me not having to head out before him each morning (as it has been for the past 3 years), packing my gym bag the night before, I was imagining many mornings of him getting ready and me dragging him back to bed for some action, some slight protesting from him and then giving in fully to my desires. Of course this can happen while he's on his leave, but not in the same way I'd imagined. So now I just have to adjust the fantasy a bit.