I Am A Homemaker, Not A Housewife!

I was running errands this morning that included a trip to the grocery store. I had the unpleasant experience of running into a former co-worker. This former co-worker has always been unfriendly to me, despite the fact that I have never been anything but polite to her. She got really nasty when I left my job 3 years ago to be a homemaker. Nearly everyone else I know thinks it's great, and I have more than one friend who wishes they could do the same. Not this person! She said I was "betraying" the women's rights movement to be a "housewife" and "become a slave" to my husband.

Today she asked me if I was still "sitting around all day doing nothing". I just smiled and walked away. I wanted to ask why such a busy career woman as herself was at the grocery store at 9:30am on a Thursday, but I restrained myself. Barely.

Anyone that knows me (Mom? care to jump in here?) knows that I am stubborn, and I simply don't do things I don't want to do. The comment about becoming a slave to my husband was really funny to me, because I cannot imagine anything being further from the truth!

I really feel like it's a give and take thing. He fights Chicago traffic for nearly an hour to get to work, works all day, and fights Chicago traffic again for nearly an hour to get home. He earns the money we need to have a house, cars, electricity, food, and indulge our hobbies, which are numerous. He is an excellent manager of money (something I am not, but he is teaching me!). We do not have a mortgage on our house- we paid for it with cash. We also paid cash for our cars. We pay cash for everything, actually! We have no debts at all, and that is very nice in the current economic climate!

I clean the house, do the laundry, plan our meals, cook our meals, do the grocery shopping, and make sure the bills get paid. I also take care of the yard in the summer (I love mowing the grass, I have since I was a kid!) and plant and tend the garden, which is pure joy for me, and healthy vegetables for both of us (and usually our neighbors!). I also have time to sew and knit, which I enjoy very much! I wish Hubby could have as much time to indulge his hobbies.

My understanding of the Women's Rights movement, in it's original form, was that those women were fighting so women could choose. And this is my choice! I choose to be a homemaker. I love what I do! It's a lot more relaxing than going to an office every day. Here's something funny- Hubby and I each think the other has the harder job!

Sorry, but I needed to rant a little. This woman has always gotten under my skin, despite my best efforts to not be bothered by her! I do not criticize her choice to have a career, and I cannot imagine why she attacks my choice to be a homemaker.