In 2022, my wife gave birth to our first child, a daughter, followed by our son in 2025. By circumstance more than choice, I became a stay-at-home dad. I began creating work that explores the complexity of loss, overwhelm, isolation, and shifting identity, as well as the undeniable sense of fulfillment, purpose, humor, and joy of my situation. Though my experience is not unique, the contradictory feelings of parenthood are further complicated by traditional gender roles. Contained in the walls of my house, I am adapting my parenthood role in isolation from my male peers, who continue to work, and from my female peers, to whom I feel like an outsider.  Through this work, I aim to act as a narrative bridge, connecting and conveying the contradictions that come with parenthood— the complications and changes our homes, spousal relationships, and identities endure — and how gender informs my experience.