Housewife is Not a Dirty Word

I enjoyed watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta quite a bit. What I didn't enjoy, however, were all the blog postings about being a housewife. And, most of the time, the hostility towards housewives come from women. Why is there so much hating about being a housewife? Most of the women on the show weren't even housewives. Deshawn Snow was, I believe. But, the others had careers outside of the home. So many bloggers wrote about the fact that they wouldn't be living such lavish lifestyle if it weren't for their husbands wealth, and so on and so forth. And, my thought is, so what? Aren't husbands supposed to be providers? Aren't they supposed to be the breadwinners?

In this day and age, it's almost taboo to say that the husband should be the breadwinner. But, for many centuries that has been the case. So many women are caught up in being independent, that they don't care about their child being in daycare for 8-10 hours while they climb their career ladder. Something has to give at some point in life. To work and put young kids in daycare just for the sake of working seems ludicrous to me. But, apparently not so for the many women who have husbands that could take care of them and their children comfortably. What will society say? What will people say if I stop working when I've gone to college and put x amount of years toward my career?

These thoughts plague many women. I don't understand why it has to be anybody's business whether their husband is the primary source of income for their family. If it's not hurting them, who really cares? Housewives or stay at home moms are not leeches or uneducated, mindless whits who don't know what to do with themselves. There is plenty to do at home. Laundry, dishes, keeping a clean home, feeding and cleaning and caring for the children, cooking, making time for yourself, time for your husband, sewing, grocery shopping, bargain hunting, errand running, etc. The list could go on.

If you're a housewife, I say, be darn proud of it. Consider yourself blessed. Thousands of women would love to be in your shoes. Especially when you have to get up to go to a job that you don't like to make ends meet. Or you have no choice but to put your children in daycare, because you, as a mom, are the only source of income. Being a housewife is nothing to be ashamed of. It's time that people stop thinking that housewife is a dirty word.