My sister...ok, I should qualify that...one of my sisters (because I have two) has her own blog...I read it today and have to say thank you to her. Shelley wrote about feeling guilty about sitting in front of the computer while her three year old watched some tv, and I want to say thank you for something she wrote...
I'm saying thank you, because she used the phrase "work outside the home" mother to describe herself and others who hold jobs outside the house.
I love it.
I love that particular phrase because the usual term is "working mother"...and I take issue with that...ask any stay home mother if she works and the answer is, damned right I do...in fact, my husband has told me on more than one occasion that he couldn't do my job (and sometimes he tells me this even when I haven't been nagging him to help out a bit more!)...
"Working mother" implies that those women who go off to jobs are working hard, while those of us who, for whatever reason, have decided to stay home with our kids are sitting around on our behinds all day doing nothing but watching Oprah and eating bonbons...and I think that the term does a huge disservice to women, because then suddenly the work outside the home mothers are pitted against the stay home mothers and everyone ends up with their feelings hurt and feeling defensive about which choices they've made...
So kudos to my sister...and go check out her blog...mummyinamodernworld
Wow... This is certainly not something a guy gets all revved up about. I think most guys would be proud to be "stay at home," rather than head off to work.
ReplyDeleteAlso, anyone who has spent any time at home minding children would never criticise someone that they were lazy. It is crazy busy, if you aren't truly lazy (in which case your spouse will be working 2 jobs). You do need good support from your spouse or you'll go freaking looney.