Let's start a new movement!

I often think that I would have made an awful housewife in the 1950's....and then I look around my house and realize two things:

1. Yes, I would have made an awful housewife in the 1950's

2. I am living the life of an awful 1950's housewife

Last night I made a nice meal of roast chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, veggies & buns.  This may not seem like any great feat to the average woman, but for me this was big!  I cleared the dining room table, which has been housing everything from school newsletters to laundry and hasn't seen the light of day in about a month.  One of my brothers joined us for supper, Natalie set the table and we all sat down to eat...ten minutes later we were all finished the meal that took me how long to prepare, my brother said his good-byes, my kids all got up and went to do their own thing and my husband took his place on the couch with a book in hand and a hockey game on the t.v.  I was left standing in a kitchen, that even before the meal was a disaster, but at that point was a danger zone, all alone with mountains of dirty dishes piled up around me.  I know what a lot of people would say to me: "make you kids help you clean it" or some women would even suggest having my husband help...wouldn't that be nice!  I simply walked away from the entire kitchen and woke up this morning to a kitchen that looked like something featured on the show "Hoarders".  Best thing about not being a 1950's housewife - having a very nice dishwasher with a very good Pots & Pans setting!  I know that I should just ask my husband to help more around the house, but I don't really think I should have to ask, it should just be his own common sense.  I have talked to many, many women about this topic and we all seem to see it the same way, and God forbid you ever tell your husband that they don't help out enough, because you can be guaranteed to hear about how he took the trash out two weeks ago as their defences go through the roof!  I know my kids are old enough to help out too, but sometimes I just don't have the energy to fight with them about it. 

The '50's had the wives who asked their husbands for money, did all the housework, took care of the kids, etc., etc., and then came the '60's were the wives took off their bras to burn them, told their husbands that they, as women, should have more rights and freedoms, etc., etc.  What, you may wonder, did that movement of the '60's do for future generations like myself?  It gave me a chance to be a '50's housewife who is also expected to work because of the '60's movement that gave me all the rights and freedoms I deserve!  Thanks ladies!

I really am not complaining as much as it might seem about my situation....I do have it pretty good.  My only wish is that my husband (and all men) would realize that we as women do a hell of a lot during the day and that our day doesn't end when the clocks strikes 5; our job as mothers and wives is a 24/7 kind of job and we do not get many perks and benifits, and never a day off.  Have you ever wondered what would happen if you just sat down on the couch at 5:00 p.m. and stayed there until about 11:00 p.m.?  Would anyone eat?  Would any diapers get changed?  Would the kids get tucked into bed?  Would the laundry get washed, dryed, folded and put away?  Would the pets get fed?  Would the dishes get done?  Maybe we should make a new movement - minus the bra burning (they are just far too expensive to burn) - a movement that says if a woman works, inside or outside the home, the duties of parenting and household chores should be split 50/50 and if the woman has the chance to stay home without having to work, the duties should still be helped with after "working hours".  What do you say ladies, want to start something big?

Another movement I would like to see happen is one that would get our kids to just be kids again.  What I mean by that is to let our children grow up at the rate that God intended them to grow and develop, to let them be home after school instead of being shipped all around town to different activites.  Since when does a child need to do dance, gymnastics, music, scouts, hockey, soccer and skating all in the same week?  I know so many families who run from one activity to the next every day of the week and I can't imagine that their children are begging to do all of those activities.  I think that somewere along the way someone made the moms of the world feel like they were not quite up to par unless they had their children walking, talking and playing hockey before their first birthdays!  If you are not a mother yet, or your children are all grown at this point, let me tell you the pressure we feel these days to make sure our children are busy, busy, busy.  We all seem to think that by their 3rd birthday they need to be enrolled in pre-school and busy with at least one activity, but by the time they turn 5, you better have them in at least two or three things.  Imagine if you were a kid again and you came home from school and told your mom you wanted to go play at Bobbie's house down the street, and she said "no, you have to go to Hip-Hop, Music lessons and Hockey tonight"...wouldn't that suck when you just want to go and play and have some fun.  I know that I don't want to have to go to meetings or aerobics classes every night of the week after I have had a long day; our kids sit through school all day long, where they are busy using their little brains and bodies and then we expect them to use them once again all evening long. 

I understand the push to have active children, but doesn't that just mean to let them play outside with their friends after school or to take them to the pool on the weekends?  In my own opinion, I think that our children are active enough just being in elementary school; they go out for recess three times a day and they have gym class every week (not sure how many times per week).  If we are scared that our children are going to grow up to be overweight perhaps we should look to ourselves to make sure they are eating the proper food and not stuffing their faces with fast food on their way to gymnastics!!  By the time they reach adolescence, I do think that having them in activites is a good thing as it keeps them busy and keeps them out of trouble, but until that point I think I will just keep my kids little as long as I can and let them be the ones to tell me if they want to dance or play hockey.

What do you say ladies, do you want to start something big with me?  Let's make a movement today to let our kids be kids and our have our husbands give us a much needed helping hand!

SJ