So today was an extremely hot day and Anders and I got to experience it fully while at the Santa Ana zoo. I woke up this morning and was antsy to get out and do something interesting. We've never taken Anders to the zoo and I wasn't sure if he was old enough yet to enjoy it. I did a little research and the Santa Ana zoo seemed small enough and interesting. (they have a little train that goes around the perimeter of the farm area.) It was all very exciting but really hot and muggy. Chris and I will probably take him back again soon on a cooler day!
When we got home we went for a swim which was extremely refreshing!
On another note one of the blogs that I read regularly has had a discussion going about a Southern Baptist seminary that is offering a 23 hour course on homemaking offered only to women. To get the whole article go here. Anyways, everybody is riled up about it and I have to say that the tone that it is presented in is distastefully legalistic and self-righteous (in my opinion). But it has made me think more about the subject especially because I am the primary house cleaner, cook and child caregiver in our home. I have noticed that even the women I know who work full time, take most of the responsibility of the home life on themselves. Now, most husbands that I know share some of the responsibilities around the house as well but that's not their primary focus.
As a side note, Chris and I were discussing this and he made an interesting observation that since the women's lib movement, the economy has grown and become dependent on two incomes and therefore much more expensive and difficult for the one income family. My sister Erin pointed out that we also have come to have higher standards of living. Thus making it difficult to make due when money gets tight. In my opinion this is directly related to the major problem of over spending and maxed out credit that much of America is dealing with now.
Anyways, after some thought I am of the opinion that the support and encouragement for wives to take homemaking more seriously is extremely important not just for the good of families but for the economy as well.
I believe that the tide has started to turn because frankly women are realizing that they are ones being shorted by going to work full time and having to come home and give undivided attention to kids, husbands and laundry. I haven't mentioned the problem of extra money shelled out for house keepers, babysitters/nanny's, gas, work clothes and pre-prepared convenience foods.
So, although I cringed a bit at the tone of the article, I really agree with what they are advocating. Teaching and encouraging women in the task that they will have whether they stay at home or work outside the home.
7 comments:
Thanks for sharing on this.I hartily agree! Grama
Very good post and well thought out. I think little is also said about the joy and art of 'homemaking.' It takes a lot of important skills, management and creativity, which so often go unaffirmed in our society. But as you say, maybe that is changing.
I think many women your age are embarassed and kind of angry that they don't know how to cook, buy food or manage a home, and are looking for ways to learn what their grandmothers knew.
Good comments by Luanne. I remember when you girls were small, observing how one Swiss mom looked at her job as homemaker and mom as a very real, important thing she did. She just felt that it was worth taking time to do it and wasn't ashamed of using time that way. It really encouraged me to go ahead and take time to do the jobs of a mom and homemaker and to see it as an important way to spend my time. It made life better for each person in our household. It's not "big and significant" but each person is precious and worth taking time on.
Well said, Gretchen! I agree with Aunt Luanne about little being said about the joy and art of homemaking. It is a place where we can put to good use our many skills, our creativity, and time on something that is going to last forever - people! We also have more time to be involved with other people's lives outside our home, which can be a ministry to them.
Oprah did an intersting show on stay-at-home moms vs. working moms last week, and I got caught watching it because it was so good. She had good representatives of the stay-at-home side, which I appreciated!
As with anything, the amount of effort we put into homemaking can be poor or it can be excellent ... it's our choice with how we use our time and talents whether we're working outside or inside the home.
Anyway, just some of my thoughts...
Very well done, Gretchen.
I remember my female co-workers wanting to continue their careers even though their husbands made enough money.
Somehow they had this notion that having a profession equaled respect. They had no idea how humiliating corporate politics were, and at least where I worked, no self-respecting person could advance beyond the mid to low management level. You really had to prostitute yourself and compromise your own values in most cases to climb up the ladder.
That is nowhere near what I believe respect looks like. I'd choose staying home over wading through the wreckage of corporate politics any day.
David, that's an interesting way to look at it. I've heard that corporate politics can be pretty ugly!
Raising kids and taking care of a home can seem pretty dull much of the time and there is very little respect or prestige in it. I always feel so much more validated when I go to work!
Thankfully I'm realizing that the important work isn't in building my business/clientele it's in caring for and nurturing Anders and making sure that he has a stable existance.
I can always find any old job but I can never take back lost time with my family.
So yes, I understand your female co-workers mind set. It's an easy lie to believe that the flattering praise of ones peers is more important than the cries of your child. (praise is alot easier to listen to!)
I think that college degree is wonderful. We no longer have the community where women learn "homemaking" skills from each other .
It's sad that women feel they aren't worth anything unless they have a career. I struggled a little with the realization that I no longer contribute financially, but I also have to realize that taking care of my house, son and husband ARE contributing to the house.
I frequently read Proverbs 31 to remind myself that I AM doing 1) God's will, 2)what I was designed to do and 3)what I desire to do. NOTHING is more important than loving my husband and raising our children.
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