When we walked into that city council chamber, I never expected anything to change. I was just there to support the service animal program. Yet that small moment turned life-changing for my son and me.

Nolan, my son, spoke only to a few trusted ones — me, his father, and his service dog, Hunter. When my maternity leave ended, Daniel offered to stay home with Nolan. At first, things seemed perfect. “Laundry’s done!” “Tummy time went well!” Daniel painted himself as a flawless stay-at-home dad.

Then Linda, my mother-in-law, called. “Daniel told me you were desperate to go back to work.” Shocked, I learned Linda had been secretly helping Daniel every day, handling chores while he pretended.

We planned a little test. Linda pretended to be sick, leaving Daniel alone. That evening, chaos ruled — Nolan was screaming, the house was a mess, and Daniel looked defeated. “I think the baby might hate me,” he muttered.

Later, Daniel admitted, “I lied. I didn’t know how hard this really was.” We didn’t fix everything overnight, but Daniel found a job he loved, we hired part-time help, and most importantly, we learned deep respect for each other’s roles.