Posted on 08/05/2008 7:17:25 AM PDT by rightwingintelligentsia
There's something to be said about having a woman to take care of a man (if he can afford it).
Will my work load go down after the kids go? Sure, but then I can also become a more productive homemaker.
Interesting point. We fall into that category. I'll have to crunch the numbers one of these days.
Communities need people who have time to keep an eye on the local government, organize meetings and keep touch with the everyone else. People who work all the time cannot keep the watchful eye on freedom and have the leeway to execute campaigns to protect it.
People home during the day helps protect neighborhoods against thieves too.
Of course you are excused. But honestly, I don't even know what you did wrong that would require excusing, so you needn't even have mentioned it. (What did you do, burp? That's okay, happens to all of us.)
Sorry, I seem to be in teasing mode today. ;-) What actually are you objecting to in my post? Surely we're all in agreement that both men and women have contributed to the current disintegration in traditional families?
Must be that natural wiggle which comes with scrubbing a pot. Whatever it is, most guys seem to like SAH wives.
I have been between jobs and taken care of the entire home before while the wife has worked.
I KNOW that it is work to make a house and a piece of land a HOME and yard.
There is plenty to keep one's self busy during the week even though I will admit, and so will the wife, there are more opportunities for longer breaks taking care of the home. :^)
You're dropping the ball, woman! ;-D
(I like to take care of my guy, too!)
LOL! When my husband was unemployed, I used to say he was a Gentleman of Leisure. He exercised a lot, took the kids to the park, put in about 20 hours a week with the Boy Scouts, and cooked.
/johnny
Good man. I’m sure your children were richer for your sacrifice.
I'm also an officer's wife who never played the game. I married him when he was enlisted and we never forgot where we came from. I am very proud to admit that I never attended a tea or wine tasting sponsored by the other ward room wives. Besides, I've never been pretentious enough to play with some of the upper crust that some put them selves in based on what the rank of their husband.
I quit working when my Son became a hormonal pre teen and my Husband was on sea duty. My kids needed me at home and a teenage boy needs a very short lease with an ever vigilant parent.
I admire that. Really.
YEAH!! My Husband has said the same thing!! Traditional roles are sexy, I guess, but I will not complain....
This would be what I’ve done most of my life. I did work for a few years during the past 25 years but Dh has always liked having home cooked meals and everything that you can do when you are home rather than trying to do it all. We don’t drive a new car, or live in an exclusive neighnorhood but we are both happy.
Drat—I forgot the bonbons! I’m drinking a diet coke!
I stay pretty busy—my husband makes noises about me getting a job again, maybe subbing but I think he’s just making noises. He likes when I cook and he likes being able to call me up for coffee or lunch or whatever (or to run errands for him!) none of which I mind. I keep myself really busy with photography anyway. Now...if I could make money from that life would be good! (better—life really IS good!)
susie
What if she wanted to stay home?
susie
Naaa, you probably won’t keep the house perfect if you didn’t before (amazingly my house looks about the same as it did when I was working, I just seem to take longer to do it). However, I’d be willing to be that most husbands are like mine—there are things they would rather have you do than clean house. ;)
susie
My husband is in better shape physically than he was ten years ago--no more need for fast food. Home cooked meals every night, most of it made from scratch, much of it grown by me. He sleeps better as a result, which means he is never run-down at work.
He never has to worry about bills being paid on time. He never has to worry about bills, period. I maintain all of our finances, and, in spite of having no formal training in matters financial, we are doing very well. Growing retirement and college funds, healthy savings account, yadda yadda. DH's credit score is over 800. That's not just because he makes good money.
He never has to worry about what to wear. He is allowed to pick out his own clothes (LOL) but I'm the one who buys them. He doesn't even know what size suit he wears. His clothes are always cleaned and pressed. At the first sign of shabbiness, the clothes go off to St Vincent. Do clothes make the man? No. But there is a lot to be said for looking well groomed and professional. It certainly hasn't had a negative effect on his career.
When he leaves for work in the morning, he knows he can focus on his job. He doesn't have to worry about being home to speak with the roofer. He doesn't have to worry about getting the kids to the dentist or garden club. He doesn't have to worry about being at that ordinance hearing at city hall. These are all things that affect our family, but they do not distract him from his career. I take care of those things.
He is much more relaxed now than when I was still working retail. Instead of coming home to a house strewn with toys, dishes in the sink, and clothes flowing out of the hamper, he comes home to a clean, tidy house with dinner going on the table. He never has to "bring his work home with him"--he is always so focused at work that there is virtually never any need for him to work OT. He gets to come home and be husband and father, two things that give him the greatest joy. The happier he is at home, the more successful he is at work.
Yeah, maybe I should get back into the retail game and stop being such a free loader. I'm sure DH would love that!!!
I went to work when my first one went to college (the deal I made with hubby—I stayed home with the kids, which we both wanted but I also went back and got my college degree so I could get a decent job to help pay for college—we had 3 close together in age kids and college was a real strain on the budget). I worked up until this year (with a short hiatus when we moved here until I could find a job).
I feel that I have sort of earned retirment (raising kids is WORK!) and feel very blessed to be able to spend time on my hobbies now, and treasure the fact that I get to do things to make my husband’s life more pleasant too.
I know that there are some who will tar and feather me for saying this, but women and men seem to be fullfilled by different things. Are some women very career minded? Certainly. Are some men more nurturing than women? Absolutely (I was raised by a career Mom back when few women worked outside the home and she LOVED working and in fact worked even when my Dad retired). I loved her anyway, altho I used to wish she was home like other Moms. Americans are the luckiest people ever because we can, for the most part, make choices about these things, and even change our minds down the road. I have just never had a great desire to be part of the corporate world. I’m glad I didn’t have to be.
susie
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