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There was something on the news this morning about how more and more women are choosing to "opt out" (bull) of working to stay at home with their kids. They had two women on: one who chose to stay at home and one who is all about women in the workforce- pretty much all about women being men in my opinion. I felt so bad for the woman that chose to not only stay at home- but RAISE HER CHILDREN AND SUPPORT HER HUSBAND FROM THE HOME. I understand that not all people share the same Christian view as my family, but I was literally screaming at the tv while the program was on. It was so obvious which woman the station supported more (even the write up about it that I later read said nothing of the stay at home mom). The woman wrote a book called "The Feminine Mistake". The main subject is that women who chose to stay at home are depending too much on their husbands for financial support. I fully understand that "bad things happen to good people" and you can not live in ignorance about your finances- but there are ways to plan for these things. Here is a piece of the article:
"But in 21st century America, it has never been more clear that choosing economic dependency as a lifestyle is the classic feminine mistake. No matter what the reasons, it’s simply too risky to count on a man to take care of you over the long haul.
Half of all marriages end in divorce; the average age of widowhood in America is 54; and by the time women reach 60, two-thirds of them no longer have partners. Even those in lasting marriages must contend with an insecure labor market in which many men lose their jobs at some point — a hardship that proves especially painful for families who rely on a single breadwinner.
Meanwhile women’s life spans have doubled in the last century. The result is that American women are now twice as likely to slide below the poverty line as men in their later years — and 80 percent of those women were not poor before they lost their breadwinners. And yet our culture continues to encourage the fairy-tale fantasy that women should devote themselves to marriage and family, in return for which Prince Charming will take care of them forever."
So- let me get this straight- at the off chance that my marriage should end in divorce (which it wont), at the off chance that Ryan might die today or tomorrow (which very well could happen), and at the chance that I will out live my husband, I should hand my child, soon to be children, over to some daycare worker for them to raise, live in fear that my husband is going to leave me, and go back to work teaching. All while my child is being raised by a complete stranger. Well, as for me and my house we will continue to keep living the "fairy-tale fantasy" that we are called by our Lord to live.
3 comments:
Let me be one of Your Supporters. I believe in that fairy-tale life too. But just like you, my trust is in our Lord and not solely in Gary. I believe in Gary and know he can support and lead our family. But I trust in Jesus Christ that there is nothing that will touch our family that has not gone through His loving hands first. And we will never be alone.
We made the decision for me to come home from working when Britney was 9 months old. And I haven't regretted it. We realized that we were paying someone else to raise our children, clean our house, (once a week) make our meals (take out, not a maid), and cut our grass. We were just barely coming out even. So I came home and raised our children (with Gary), cooked our meals (in order for us all to eat together), cleaned our house (except when we wanted to play) and sometimes I even got to cut the grass (because no one came behind me to "uncut" the grass - it stayed cut for days..unlike cleaning the house). Have a good time - there is nothing that will take it's place - no one knows your babies like you and Ryan do. Take lots of pictures and make lots of movies and when you are my age you will wish you had made more. Love you all!
You know I agree, sister! AMEN!
PS. The only feminine mistake I see is that so many women are losing their femininity to go to work!
I definitely will live this fantasy as well. I love being at home and I know that you do too.
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