Stay at Home Martyrdom
In todays age, alot of families have to send both partners into the work force just to make ends meet. This phenomena creates "latchkey kids", which the majority from my generation can relate to.
This being said, it's getting rarer and rarer to see a stay at home mom, let alone a stay at home dad holding down fort while the other goes out to bring home the bacon.
So by that token, wouldn't it therefore be safe to assume that being a "stay at home" parent is a privilege?
Which brings me to my point: Stay at home moms who portray themselves at martyrs.
I use the term "martyr" loosely. What I really mean is that these women get down on themselves and make themselves out to be slaves.
Now, don't get me wrong. I totally get that being a stay at home parent is tough work. But it's just that, isn't it? Work.
When you get the opportunity to stay home rather than head out to the office everyday, your "work" therefore becomes what you do in the household each day. You become a housekeeper. You become a cook. A maid. A nanny. A chaufeur. A vet. And so much more.
And while these tasks result in little to no pay at all, the financial rewards really aren't the reason you're at home rather than out in the work force.
Women who choose to stay home with their children rather than go out into the workforce do so because they're able to. Too many women today are robbed of the choice.
Too many women are being shuffled out into the work force only to get burnt out in the process and mourn the fact that they're unable to be with their children more. Not to mention that the homework doesn't just disapear because they work in an office all day. These women are still subject to the throngs of laundry, dishes, homework, chaufering, and other everyday problem solving that occurs on a daily basis in the family home.
These are the Superwomen of today. It's rarer to find a woman, at least in my experience, that does all of these things and complain to the degree that a stay-at-home does.
These women seem to be that much more grateful for the time they do get and are just happy that at the end of the day their family is alive and healthy. I'm not saying that they don't get depressed or begrudge their situation, but their sense of entitlement is not equal to that of a stay-at-home.
Okay, okay...so obviously there are exceptions to my theory. What about the women who choose to work rather than stay at home?
Well, again: these women choose their fate, and therefore, they seem to have less of a sense of entitlement to those women who are stay-at-home's.
Now of course, obviously there are plenty of women who aren't bitchy about the fact that they stay at home all day cooking and cleaning.
But many seem to forget that to hold down fort these days is far simpler than even 30 years ago. Their mothers didn't have the option (for the most part) and they didn't have the luxury of a high-end washing machine or dishwasher, or conventional microwave oven. But they did their hardest. Of course you can be over-worked in the home. Of course you want to kill someone if your husband doesn't take out the garbage once a week or put the toilet seat down. Of course it sucks major balls if your children are ungrateful and do fuck all around the house - but who's responsibility is it to raise the children right? Who's job is it to problem-solve for their children, for their home, etc? It's these people who are staying at home!!
What really rubs me the wrong way is that alot of these women don't even remotely understand how lucky they are. Call it a "blessing". Call it "luck". Call it what you will; the point is that they have the option. And it's all they can do to bemoan the fact that they have yet another load of dishes to put in the dishwasher.
I'm sorry, but commooooon!!
Take some responsibility.
If you don't like your circumstances, do what you can to change them!
If you think your children are ungrateful, ride their asses until they do better! Put your foot down!
Take some responsibility.
*NOTE* okay, keep in mind that this doesn't pertain to absolutely every situation under the sun. That's not what I'm getting at. My point is that there are alot of ungrateful people out there, and it's really up to ourselves to try and find the silverlining.
This being said, it's getting rarer and rarer to see a stay at home mom, let alone a stay at home dad holding down fort while the other goes out to bring home the bacon.
So by that token, wouldn't it therefore be safe to assume that being a "stay at home" parent is a privilege?
Which brings me to my point: Stay at home moms who portray themselves at martyrs.
I use the term "martyr" loosely. What I really mean is that these women get down on themselves and make themselves out to be slaves.
Now, don't get me wrong. I totally get that being a stay at home parent is tough work. But it's just that, isn't it? Work.
When you get the opportunity to stay home rather than head out to the office everyday, your "work" therefore becomes what you do in the household each day. You become a housekeeper. You become a cook. A maid. A nanny. A chaufeur. A vet. And so much more.
And while these tasks result in little to no pay at all, the financial rewards really aren't the reason you're at home rather than out in the work force.
Women who choose to stay home with their children rather than go out into the workforce do so because they're able to. Too many women today are robbed of the choice.
Too many women are being shuffled out into the work force only to get burnt out in the process and mourn the fact that they're unable to be with their children more. Not to mention that the homework doesn't just disapear because they work in an office all day. These women are still subject to the throngs of laundry, dishes, homework, chaufering, and other everyday problem solving that occurs on a daily basis in the family home.
These are the Superwomen of today. It's rarer to find a woman, at least in my experience, that does all of these things and complain to the degree that a stay-at-home does.
These women seem to be that much more grateful for the time they do get and are just happy that at the end of the day their family is alive and healthy. I'm not saying that they don't get depressed or begrudge their situation, but their sense of entitlement is not equal to that of a stay-at-home.
Okay, okay...so obviously there are exceptions to my theory. What about the women who choose to work rather than stay at home?
Well, again: these women choose their fate, and therefore, they seem to have less of a sense of entitlement to those women who are stay-at-home's.
Now of course, obviously there are plenty of women who aren't bitchy about the fact that they stay at home all day cooking and cleaning.
But many seem to forget that to hold down fort these days is far simpler than even 30 years ago. Their mothers didn't have the option (for the most part) and they didn't have the luxury of a high-end washing machine or dishwasher, or conventional microwave oven. But they did their hardest. Of course you can be over-worked in the home. Of course you want to kill someone if your husband doesn't take out the garbage once a week or put the toilet seat down. Of course it sucks major balls if your children are ungrateful and do fuck all around the house - but who's responsibility is it to raise the children right? Who's job is it to problem-solve for their children, for their home, etc? It's these people who are staying at home!!
What really rubs me the wrong way is that alot of these women don't even remotely understand how lucky they are. Call it a "blessing". Call it "luck". Call it what you will; the point is that they have the option. And it's all they can do to bemoan the fact that they have yet another load of dishes to put in the dishwasher.
I'm sorry, but commooooon!!
Take some responsibility.
If you don't like your circumstances, do what you can to change them!
If you think your children are ungrateful, ride their asses until they do better! Put your foot down!
Take some responsibility.
*NOTE* okay, keep in mind that this doesn't pertain to absolutely every situation under the sun. That's not what I'm getting at. My point is that there are alot of ungrateful people out there, and it's really up to ourselves to try and find the silverlining.
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