Lately I have been researching a topic
that is extremely interesting to me. I've noticed an unspoken trend.
Modern women, who are married with children, appear to have
conflicting hearts.
On one side they wish to be stay at
home moms, dedicating their time to maintaining the home and
providing a safe-haven for their husbands and children.
On the other side they feel guilty
about this desire because they feel it unfair that their husband is
the only one out their earning a living. They feel guilty because
quite often they are more qualified than their husbands
(academically) and could probably earn a larger salary. Women feel
guilty because the slightly older generation puts so much emphasis on
being independent and being able to provide for yourself.
I'm sure that any woman who becomes a
wife and mother will go through this conflict. I've been reading
blog after blog written by women who either want to be stay at home
mothers, but financially they cannot afford it, or alternatively have
given up a career outside the home to care for their families.
Many women in the second group still
work, and work extremely hard, just in different ways, in ways that
society doesn't always deem acceptable for a well-educated lady.
These women are up at the crack of dawn
preparing breakfast for their families. Can you imagine sitting down
to a healthy full breakfast every morning rather than just a bowl of
cereal and some toast?
These women pack lunches for their
husbands to take to work with them so that their husbands don't have
to spend money on buying a meal (and I'm sure the packed lunches are
much healthier).
Many of these women home school their
children. Who can know a child better than a parent? Where in the
school system the teacher has only a year with the child to learn
their likes, dislikes and learning style, a parent can learn these
about their child and build them up over 18 years!
None of the women who live at home,
working in their household have maids / domestic workers to help
them. The woman is solely responsible for cleaning and doing the
laundry. Some of these women even maintain the gardens.
And who is always available to listen
to the problems of those in the household? Who is available to
advise? Who comforts the sick? These wonderful women who stay at
home to care for their families.
Some of these women, even run small
businesses from home for extra income, cleaning, baking, making and
selling stuff online, writing blogs, writing books etc.
So in essence these housewives have
more than one job... They are chefs, maids, teachers, psychiatrists,
business women, managers, nurses and gardeners! A woman who stays at
home is many things.
Sometimes I wonder if this is why women
have a harder time (in general) focusing on a specific career. Women
seem to want to do it all because they were made to do it all, and
they know they can do it all.
Now, in this post I was speaking of
married women, especially married women with children. I didn't
mention anything about single women.
I personally don't think you can
compare a single woman's duties to that of a married woman. A single
woman needs to be able to provide for herself, so as not to be a
burden on her parents or other male relative. This post is
specifically about married women.
So if you are single, I feel that it is
your responsibility to be able to live independently. However, I
feel that a married woman's number one priority is to be a help meet
to her husband, in whichever way that may be.
Well there you go, that's my opinion on
this topic out in the open!
