women's work pt 2
We have all been placed on this earth to discover our own path, and we will never be happy if we live someone else's idea of life. --James Van Praagh.
i have been thinking a lot today about the entry i wrote yesterday. what i was thinking of the most was that most people who read it will likely think i grew up in the type of home that i described, with the mother at home, etc, and that i simply think it is best because that is all i know.
actually, that is very far from the truth.
in my house, growing up, my mother worked. i either stayed with my grandparents or, when i reached school age, went to a sitter's after school. at the ripe old age of eight, i became a latchkey kid. yes, i was mature for my age, but i think that is still far too young to leave ~any~ child alone.
regardless, that was how i grew up. my mother didn't know how to cook, and so the family ate canned soup and hamburger helper. (luckily for me, my grandmother was an excellent cook and taught me). my mother knew how to sew, but didn't do it very often. she was not a very good housekeeper, nor did she care much about her house unless company was coming over. it was not kept up for her family or herself, only for her pride that others not see it looking poorly.
so where did i get my traditional "family values"? well, my life was a bit of a dichotomy. when i would stay with my grandparents, it was a very traditional life. my grandmother kept her small home immaculate, was a marvellous cook and baker, taught me to sew, knit, crochet, put up preserves, etc. my grandfather taught me compassion and showed me the strength of a real man. my grandmother taught me the womanly arts and showed me how wonderful tradition could be.
is it any wonder that when i returned to my parents home and saw their life that i found it lacking? and is it any wonder that what i seek for my own life is the kind i found security, love, and the best moments in during my childhood?
i do understand the drive for some women to have a career, but why is it that when the career of choice is wife/mother/slave that they are viewed as less valuable?
be well and happy til next W/we meet --di.