My wife went into closed-door meditation and contemplation, and it’s been a full week so far. This week I’ve been parenting our daughter on my own, handling my work too—dropping her off and picking her up from school, cooking, doing housework, taking her to play basketball and go swimming, and taking her to piano and art classes.

I’m feeling pretty good too—quite relaxed. Over the weekend we even cleared the first game our dad-and-daughter partnership played together, It Takes Two, and I brought her along to watch Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban together.

I think my flexible work schedule may be a big help, easing the tension that comes from feeling like you have to respond immediately and that your own time isn’t really yours. Of course, this is only a short ten-day experiment—if it went on longer, there would probably still be pressure.

Our daughter is older now, and she can do a lot of things herself. Her independent ability still needs improvement, but compared to when she was younger, it’s already much better. I don’t have to worry as much, and that feels really good.