A North Carolina dad has decided one job is simply not enough if it means he gets to spend more time with his daughter.
James Culp, 42, of Newport, North Carolina, has now stepped into a new role at the deli and bakery counter at a local Food Lion, alongside his 19-year-old daughter, Astyn Culp.
The father-daughter-duo went viral on Reddit after James Culp shared an image of himself along with his daughter as they worked behind the supermarket counter to the website's MadeMeSmile page.
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The North Carolina father is the director of a child development center on the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, the base in which his family is currently stationed.
He serves the military children who live on the base with their families.
James Culp met his wife while serving in the Marine Corps — he has since retired and his wife will be joining him in retirement later this year.
When he retired from the Marines, his wife was supposed to join him, but she then got pregnant with their daughter, Astyn Culp.
James Culp quickly found himself stepping into the role of a stay-at-home dad — a job very different from his position in the Marines.
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Ever since Astyn Culp was born, the two have been nearly inseparable.
"Being around the military, in a way, we weren't near family at all … and I wasn't working, so I wasn't really making friends where we were. It was really was just [me] and Astyn," James Culp told Fox News Digital in an interview.
"We were going to Padres games all the time [or] going to the zoo. We just became little partners."
The two have taken their partnership to a new level by working alongside one another at a local Food Lion Grocery Store in Newport.
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Astyn Culp has been an employee with the supermarket for over a year-and-a-half, but her dad has only been there for a few weeks.
She had been telling her dad about the recent struggles at work involving people not showing up for work or doing their proper share of the tasks at hand — which then made it difficult for the rest of the team.
James Culp decided he to wanted to ease any possible stresses his daughter was encountering at work by putting on the blue apron and working alongside her.
"I hire and recruit for work, so I understand how hard it is to get good people who want to work who are reliable [and] dependable," the dad commented.
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"As long they'll have me, and I can work the same shift as Astyn … and help her and make her life easier, [I'll be there]."
His new role at Food Lion is not as stressful as his primary employment, so he thought he would take the extra work if it meant he got to spend time with his daughter.
The father-turned-co-worker has slightly shifted the duo's perspective of one another, as Astyn Culp now is the boss of her dad.
James Culp has seen his "very reserved and shy" daughter take on this new authoritative and confident persona.
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He recognizes that most parents do not get to see their children at work or take on responsibility outside the house.
"I just stand and watch sometimes. It's one of those dad things where you are impressed and proud and all those adjectives," James Culp commented.
The new dynamic shift has been enjoyable for Astyn Culp as she enjoys bossing her dad around — she will sometimes give him the tasks she does not enjoy doing, such as going in the cooler to get the frozen items.
In spite of this new shift, the two are just as goofy as they always have been — and have found themselves growing even closer to one another in a way they never have before, father and daughter said.
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James Culp starts his day by getting to the child development center at 5:15 a.m., before getting off at 2:15 p.m. and jumping into his second job at 3 p.m.
The few people he told seemed confused as to why he was taking on yet another task, but for James Culp, it's all about his daughter.
"When people think [the second job] is about money, they look at me like I'm crazy, but when I tell them my daughter's working there and this why I'm doing it, everyone understands immediately and is very supportive of it," he said.
"He is definitely a very reliable worker … and it kind of takes the weight off my shoulders when it is one or two less things I have to worry about, and I can focus on the task at hand," said Astyn Culp.
"He definitely speeds up the process and makes my life easier at the end of the day," she added.
The proud dad said he has found a new sense of appreciation for all the work his daughter has been doing by herself, now that he's working beside her.
"With two of us, we are constantly busy. For her to have done some of that work by herself, it's impressive, and it makes me sad a little bit, and it makes me proud at the same time," he said.
This past year, Astyn Culp spent several months in treatment to help with her OCD and depression, the longest she had ever been away from her father.
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"The time you spend with your parents is really important, and it's kind of something I took for granted before," Astyn Culp commented
"Being back and being able to work with him and see him every day is just something I'm really grateful for," she also said.
"Just knowing what she has overcome and made the best of with her own personal stuff is to me nothing short of amazing, and I could not be more proud [and] I could not love her more," James Culp shared.
