Bryan Frias
Ever since I was younger, I was always swimming against the current. I’m Filipino, and the stereotypical answer to “What do you want to be when you grow up?” would be a nurse, doctor, or maybe even an engineer. For me, my earliest answer was that I wanted to be a “cowboy” (I grew up in Dallas, TX, so that explains that lol). That later changed to wanting to be an artist as I got into the arts. I was never certain of a career, but I was certain about one thing: I wanted to be a “dad.”
After going through life - falling out of the Catholic faith (because, you know, “swimming against the current”), reverting back to the faith, serving the Church and going into full-time missionary work, and meeting the love of my life - I eventually achieved my dream of becoming a dad. However, I had no idea God would be calling me to be “dad-ing” like this.
My wife and I got married while she was in med school. We had our first son right before the pandemic, our daughter right before she graduated med school, and our second son right as she started residency. We live in the greater Seattle area, so we had always planned for us to be a double-income family. I was very grateful to have a remote job that allowed me to travel between Dallas and Seattle while we were engaged, save up for our wedding, provide for our family up until my wife entered residency, and, most especially, raise our kids. After working for that company for almost 6 years, I eventually quit and became a stay at home dad - long story short, work got more demanding and the cost of childcare was basically one of our salaries. Not worth it.
So, here I am. “Dad-ing” as not just a SAHD, but a CATHOLIC SAHD. Why is that a big deal? Traditionally, the man is the one providing for their family while the woman stays home and raises the kids. While it’s 2025, there are still some people who hold on to that dynamic and think less of those in situations outside of this. Aside from being the head of my domestic church, I feel that God has called me to serve Him by bringing light to this - that you can be a provider and still uphold “tradition” and our Catholic faith even if you’re a SAHD.