‘”We’ll be at a party and the moms will be talking about their stuff, and the guys will be talking about their work, and I’m not really part of either conversation,” he said.’

Been there. DH doesn’t fit into either conversation (like this guy) if the guys are talking about jobs (they seem to try to talk about other stuff to include him more), and I want to be in both conversations – talking jobs with the guys, and talking childbirth, grocery shopping, and parenting with the ladies and career with the guys. I feel ilke my choice of converstation symbolizes a dichotomy between “Mom” and “breadwiner” that I need to choose between. Most of our friends are traditional families, and there is a clear male / female split whenever more than two parents of each gender are in the same room.

It’s not a cold-shoulder issue for us, though – it’s a “common experience” issue. Childbirth and breastfeeding come up a lot with the women – DH can’t relate to that, and doesn’t really care. And while he can talk about his old job with the guys, that’s practically another life by now.

Strangely, it’s these traditional parents who really get the closest to “getting” it. But so help me, if I hear a woman tell me that “Men can’t multi-task” one more time . . .