Wednesday, April 07, 2010

What Is A Housewife

This is a challenge from the new place I love to go...The Real Housewives of Oklahoma...I have been challenged to write about this subject...


"What Is A Housewife." 

First let us find the definition to that heavily weighted word, housewife according to Wikipedia.  It refers to the housewife as a woman not employed outside the home and manages the home.  That is all well and good.  My mother was a housewife as was my grandmother although they both worked at different times when necessary before children arrived.  I used to threaten The Hubby that when I die I do not want my obituary to read "she was a housewife."  I'm not a housewife.  I promised that I would come back to haunt him!  I work outside the home, sort of.  I work at our office and when the girls were young the office was in the home.  Actually, we are all housewives if you take the definition from Wikipedia to heart, we manage the home too.  We work outside the home and inside the home.  We do it all.  I'm not sure I really like the term, housewife.  I've done it all.  I work.  I've raised two daughters.  I went to college while raising those two girls.  I also worked in our business, still do for nearly 31 years.  I've managed the house and paid the household bills along with the work responsibilities.  Hey, I think I'm tired.  Housewife, I'm not sure I've managed to figure out that term myself.  I've cooked, cleaned, done the laundry.  I've taken the kids to the doc and the pets to the vet.  I've been a nurse and caretaker. I've championed my girls at their school and extra activities.  I've been a chauffeur and WalMart runner at the last minute kind of gal.  I've been ready for the family dinners at our house with a smile on and a killer meal to boot.  I've been the glue for the family, especially the extended family.  I have been the wife, the patient wife who is there for her guy.  His dinner is kept warm for hours and when he walks in the door I'm not mad but caring for his long day.  I am happy to be with him, to sit and watch mindless TV, to talk about his day.  I am there in good and bad.  I am more that a mere housewife, I am woman, hear me roar!  Oops, better get off the high pedestal that I've climbed up on and get back down to earth.  Oh gosh, I don't know if I can define what a housewife is, I just know who I am and I am much, much more that a housewife, like many, many of the women today.  We need to coin a new phrase, don't you think!  I can't even think of one word that would fill that in so housewife I guess I will stay.

4 comments:

Real Housewives of Oklahoma said...

Great post. I think it is complicated right now to define the term housewife. I definitely think the term itself is outdated, but I also think that we can now define it however we want.

Thanks for playing!

Mrs. McGillicutty

The 4-Crows Blog said...

Thanks for playing!!! Fantastic post and you are right, very hard to define the word. I love the name of your blog and to be honest, it is very fitting for what "we" do!!! ♥ Mrs. Hart ♥

ThatsBaloney said...

So happy that you joined us today! I think the term Housewife has had a negative connotation for years. They change names for other things, maybe we'll just refer to ourselves as a "domestic goddess" from now on.

Anonymous said...

I never thought about this before but I suppose it would be easier for me to describe my wife or her me than to do it myself.

Enjoy this day. It was your future yesterday.