As a little girl, all I wanted to be was a housewife.
What I dreamed of was being an old-fashion homemaker. I found comfort in programs like Little House on the Prairie and The Walton’s. I idealized June Cleaver from Leave it to Beaver and Aunt Bea from The Andy Griffith Show. Even as an adult I still have an idealistic view of a woman whose primary job is to take care of their family.
If I think back to my middle school years, I can honestly say I never had trouble getting good grades in Home Economics and FFA. What happens to those programs in school? Home Ec, Woodshop and FFA (Future Farmers of America)? They don’t exist in our area any longer…what a shame.
Why do people cringe when you say you’re a housewife?
I’ve been called old-fashion because I put so much value on a husband who works to provide for his family and a woman that works hard to make it stretch. Not everyone would agree, but I call it the most important job a woman can have.
It really hit home this past week I met up with an old friend from my full-time working days. We got to talking about all the jobs we had held over the years, and she asked me what my favorite was. I knew instantly what my answer would be, but I felt sheepish saying it. My friend was a career woman, and I was afraid she might look down on me if I told her my favorite job was being a housewife. At that moment I knew society has looked down on the job of a homemaker for so long that I felt shy about telling her how I really felt. Just so you know I did tell her the truth and her response shocked me. To my pleasant surprise, she said she looked up to me and wished she could do half the things I always talked about.
I know I am not the only one who inspired to stay home and take care of her family. Not too long ago I was invited to a bridal shower for a young woman who made it very clear she wanted to stay home to raise her children and be a housewife. It was so easy for me to find her the perfect shower gift. The “Classic Household Hints” with over 500 old and new tips for a happier home was the ideal gift.
It’s a shame that the skills of a homemaker are seen as menial and often women who work at home, raising children, baking, sewing and cooking are ridiculed as being old fashioned, lazy or “just a housewife.” I wish I could do something to change this perception!
The role of a woman holds so many different meanings, especially when society has made it almost impossible for a family to survive on just one income. Maybe we are all missing something here…maybe there should be a college degree in homemaking. If there were then women wouldn’t feel ashamed to say they are a housewife.
My hope is that all women, even if they have to work outside the home, will embrace their role as a homemaker.
Every woman has the right to choose what is best for her, but I know what is best for me and what my dream has always been and will always be a full-time happy homemaker.
As I talked to my soon-to-be-bride I encouraged her to wrap her arms around a homemaking career. I explain that it was important to make every penny count. I suggested she buy the best they could afford and cook and bake as much as she could from scratch. I told her to approach house cleaning as a way to keep her family comfortable and encouraged her to look at her role as a homemaker as an investment in her family’s future, but most of all to be proud of being a housewife.
What advice would you give to a new housewife? Please share with us in the comments below.
