Chris Jones put his hand up to be a full-time Lead Dad after his first daughter was born. His wife’s career was taking off. He wanted to support her. Plus he figured he’d return to the tech world after the 2000 downturn passed.
But one year turned into two decades and he never looked back. He had had success working in software sales in the 1990s. Still, what he had fonder memories of were college jobs: teaching kids to ski at Vail and the next year working in a nursery school.
While he was being the Lead Dad in their small, New England town next to Williams College, his wife, Amanda Jones, was scaling her business as the go-to photographer of animals, from shooting people’s pets to doing large scale corporate campaigns. He was there for their daughter and their dogs – a pack of dachshunds.
Was he the only father at many school events? He was. Did it bother him? Not really.
“I had no hang-ups when I was doing it,” he said. “I loved seeing these kids grow up. Now that they’re 23, 24, it’s incredible. I’ve known them so well since they were kids. I liken it to being a teacher without going to the teacher’s lounge.”
Career wise, not returning to the corporate world nags him a bit.
“After I was done being a Lead Dad, I was in a precarious situation professionally that I wished I had addressed earlier. One of the pieces of advice I’d give is, although you’ll become completely immersed in this, don’t lose sight of your personal career growth.”
Now that their daughter is out of college and working in New York, Chris travels more with Amanda on their photo shoots. Their dachshunds get to come along too.
“I feel fortunate, very fortunate,” he said. “Often people say the measurement of your success is in the happiness of your child. I can say confidently she’s well adjusted, she has a great job, she’s aware.”
His approach helped his family fulfill its full potential. That’s a true team effort. Welcome, Chris, to The Company of Dads!
