The Longest Shortest Time

EPISODE #54: When the Breadwinner Makes Dough

Rachel and Kevin Crampsey met completely by chance—thanks to a glowing neon Guinness sign at a bar in Queens. Six weeks later, they were married and got infinity symbols tattooed on their fingers as wedding bands.

Rachel and Kevin now have three kids. And they own a bakery in Montclair, NJ—the town where I live—called Montclair Bread.

Her specialty: donuts. She’s become a local celebrity after her win on Donut Showdown. (Yes, they’re that good.)

To make ends meet, Kevin decided to stop working construction and become a homemaker—a role he had never seen modeled by men either in his native Ireland or here in the States. Suddenly Rachel and Kevin’s days looked entirely different—her working her dream job and wining and dining clients at five-star restaurants, and him packing lunches, doing dishes, and cleaning up puke and exploding diapers.

Rachel and Kevin’s parenting roles are a reversal of the classic 1950s gender stereotype—extending even into how they fight about it, with Kevin complaining that Rachel doesn’t clean up enough around the house.

Rachel + Kevin got these tattoos (left) for their 7th anniversary. (Kevin’s the one with the hairy arm.) Kevin joked to Rachel that it showed where her priorities were. But Rachel says someone’s gotta be makin’ the bacon.

Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Listen to this episode to hear more of my awful puns—and to find out how other parents have reacted to the Crampseys’ role reversal. Particularly the uncomfortable things that other moms say to Rachel on the rare days that she picks the kids up from school.

How do you map YOUR parenting role? How do OTHERS map you?
Are the answers the same? Different? Did this story make you rethink your own parents’ roles? Details, please. In the comments.

Photos of Rachel’s donuts: Natalie Chitwood