Some women got all hyped up amen-ing it, reading it as sarcastic. Like, I do ALLLLL this stuff because my husband has a "job." Look at what all is required of me, isn't that a job? I deserve more recognition, he just sits at a desk all day while I blah blah... He gets off easy "going to work" while my job is here 24/7, blah blah. Stupid stereotypical man's work vs. women's work, so old fashioned, blah bah.
I kinda giggled when I read it because I had literally just come in from mowing the rest of the yard after getting home from working most of the day at Power FM. Now, I don't normally do yard work and I don't normally "go to work" much anymore. While I DO take out the trash (y'know, man's work, har har), he is great about taking care of the yard stuffs. Well, yesterday, he came home from a full day of work, and as he was getting out of the car, I was getting in mine to head to work at Power FM for the evening, so there was barely a "hello!" between us. It's one of THOSE weeks. So, after getting home from a full day of work, he was suddenly in charge of the children, had to make dinner for them, started mowing the yard and then they had to leave for AWANA across town (daddy chauffeur and chef, hmm). He didn't finish the yard. The next day (yesterday) was one of those days where he is gone before the sun comes up and gets home long after it's down, so he wasn't going to be able to finish then either. He asked me to do it. I admit, I pouted a tiny bit (that mean 'ole lawnmower hates me), but I did it. I came home from MY work day, attended the kids, got out there mowed the lawn, made dinner, finished up school with Preston, etc. And, you know what? This morning I got out there and used the spreader to lay down bug-b-gone junk. Boom.
All this to say that a family is a team. You take on the role you need to. Single parents have to do it ALL. There are lots of amazing stay-at-home dads while the wife works and supports the family. There are families, where (gasp!) BOTH mom and dad work. What? Then, there are lots of traditional-looking families where the man works, the wife stays at home and takes care of kids and house. SO WHAT?! Why is "tradition" so bad anyway? If that's the way you and your spouse decide that your family is going to work, ROCK ON! No one should shame you for being a stay-at-home-mom or a housewife, geez. Yes, a mom's job is HARD, no one should ever deny that. A dad's job is just as difficult. I know my husband feels the pressure of having to provide for his family, and that's why he works 2-3 jobs at at a time. It isn't ideal. And it isn't because he WANTS to be away from his family so much. It's because the economy sucks, and he can't work one job that pays him enough to make ends meet. And we want to make ends meet, don't we? His job is to bring in income, and my job is to make that income stretch as far as it can, and occasionally add to it with my little jobs. We are a team. He watches the kids while I work and I watch the kids while he does. We have made the decisions together and we are happy with it. And while sometimes I wished I was the one who was away from the house ALL DAY LONG (mama needs a break once in a while, right?), I truly love being here with my kids and being the one in charge of their learning and being. I know that my husband appreciates me and recognizes it for what it is, my job. And I love and respect him for being willing to do what he does for us so that we can be in this position. My husband is wonderful, and while it does put extra pressure on me to do a few things that are considered men's work... OH WELL.
