Wednesday, February 24, 2010

What does it all mean?

I've been so out of blogging, it took me awhile to find my blog. In the meantime, I came across this.
http://www.howtodothings.com/family-relationships/how-to-be-a-housewife

It's a posting of how to be a housewife from a current point of view, on "how to do things.com". I think this article is fascinating because the duties are still so much like the 1950's, just stated a little differently. And the author writes "career woman" like it's a dirty word. Notice how "taking care of yourself" is the very very last thing on the list.


How To Be a Housewife


(my comments are in orange)

The term housewife is rarely used these days, given the emergence of corporate career women/mothers. (They make it sound like the "corporate career women" killed off the housewife, and that that was a bad thing?)But nothing beats the home manned by a very competent housewife. While you as an aspiring housewife may have to give up many things for yourself (OK, yes, but really, do you have to? really? can't you have both? and why to they seem to imply that it is unreasonable and selfish to have things for yourself?) , the perks include having a fulfilling family life and leaving a heritage of properly raising individuals in society. Here are the steps to help you become a very successful housewife:

  1. Be the temporal affairs expert. That includes cooking and household chores. You can choose not to do them on your own and have your kids take turns (as long as they are of age, this is good training for them for adulthood). You need to be able to do most of the domestic tasks within a given day. Your work may not be the type with titles but it actually may be more harrowing than corporate or clerical tasks that career women are known for. Actually, they don't get it. It's not more harrowing. It's more BORING. Corporate life can be exciting. There's drama, politics, deadlines, crucial decisions. And the bad part of corporate life is that there's drama, politics, deadlines, crucial decisions. It's not that it's more "harrowing" to be a housewife. It's just boring.
    If you're coming out of a career into being a housewife, you have to adapt to tedium.
  2. Manage your time. The good thing about being a housewife is that you are the boss of your time. But then, your time is for your family and not exclusively yours. What you do with your time affects not only you, but also your kids and your husband. Manage your time accordingly. Time? What time? They make it sound like you'll have all this time and you'll have to make sure you're dedicating it to your family. Like you have a choice?
  3. Keep your kids’ and husband’s health in check. Make sure that you are able to keep up with dental, medical and other appointments that will keep your whole family in good shape. These things are valuable especially since it will help you avoid health disasters and needless hospitalizations. Yes, and you'll have to be on hold for a half hour and when you finally get to talk to someone your kids will be screaming, crying and pulling at the phone.
  4. Learn home remedies. You can’t always expect the convenience store to give you everything. Some saline solution like a pinch of salt and warm water may do wonders for the throat as well as a huge dose of antibiotic. Learn home remedies and you will save more. Because your time is so worthless that you will save more by making something at home rather than picking it up quickly.
  5. Cultivate a happy home atmosphere. Keep the love and joy alive in the home by engaging the entire family with activities such as games, wholesome discussions at the dining table and many others. Sure, you will need the help of your entire family. But it is ideal for you to initiate and get things rolling. Actually, this has been my favorite part of being home. We now have lots of activities that are fun for everyone. We do art at the kitchen table and have a cabinet dedicated to kids art supplies. It was sad to hand over my unused art supplies to my kids, but at least I get to do it with them.
  6. Plan your menu in advance. What your family eats dictates what they are, physically. Make sure you have a menu that follows the healthy daily allowance standards.
  7. Set recreation schedules outside the home. While you make an effort to make home very happy, make sure there is still time and budget for outdoor recreation. Camping, malling and other trips enhance your bonds as a family. What, was this written in Jersey? Since when does "mall" have the verb "malling"? "Let's go malling, kids!"
  8. Learn the SSS: Sewing, small repairs and superb decorations. Your husband will not always be there to do the minor plumbing tasks. Some of your kids’ clothing may need a little fine tuning. And your home may need a makeover from time to time. Learn the necessary skills to be able to work more independently. No. I don't sew, that's what the dry cleaner is for. Small repairs can wait for the weekend/husband. And "superb decorations". Come on. Are we really going back to moms trying to be martha?
  9. Be practical with the budget. Employ budgeting software. Pay your bills on time to avoid any disconnection issues. And make sure that the family has an emergency fund. Fine, as long as you have plenty of money. Otherwise, figuring out how to pay one thing while waiting on the other will have to do.
  10. Don’t neglect yourself. You might have to fulfill roles as a wife and mother. But that does not mean you need to lose your whole being and sanity as you do so. Schedule your me time and make it non-negotiable. This is such a reminder of Nike's priorities, their "mission". Of their mission, one of them was that "People first". It too was last on their list til someone noticed the irony of it.