In this present age where a lot of importance is placed on the independence of a woman, you might feel out of place if you have no zeal for working 9-5 or establishing a business.
You might have heard a lot of naysayers tell you that you’re just lazy for not wanting to have a job and just wanting to be a housewife.
Now, you aren’t sure if it’s right that you just want to raise kids and stay at home and not build a career.
It is essential to remember that everyone has different values, aspirations and experiences that influence their life choices, and that no lifestyle choice is inherently wrong as long as it is a decision that is made freely and willingly.
Career Women vs Housewives
Caitlyn always wanted to go to college and own a billion-dollar chain business.
So, right from high school, she worked towards her dreams of being a business woman.
She graduated valedictorian in both her high school and college, and because of her dedication, she was able to achieve her dream of owning one of the biggest franchises in her state.
She was fully content with what she’d achieved and was labeled a successful woman on all sides.
Ellen, on the other hand, from a very young age had always dreamed of her wedding and everything about having a great marriage and great children.
She always fantasized about how she’d be a traditional housewife who took on all the duties of the house. After college, she just wanted to get a husband and settle down while she used a waitressing job to augment the moment.
Her friends and parents have scolded her severally, telling her not to be totally dependent on any man, but she didn’t find any fulfillment in completing college and she still doesn’t find it in her waitressing job.
When she finally got married, she got called a lot of names because she stayed at home and raised her kids, but she found fulfillment in it, so it washed off her.
Caitlyn and Ellen are both women with completely different perspectives on life and completely different dreams.
Caitlyn loves her profession and it has made her complete. It makes her totally and utterly complete. Ellen didn’t feel the zeal to work but she found fulfillment in being a housewife, and raising great kids.
Now, because Caitlyn has a very successful business doesn’t mean that she’s better than Ellen in any way. Both women have different dreams and because they were able to achieve them, they’re both successful women.
Each and everyone of us measures success differently. The yardstick for success is different for every one of us.
Being a Housewife
The decision of being a housewife and not work outside the home is a personal decision and it is not wrong by any means as long as it was a decision made freely and willingly.
Also, the decision to be a housewife must be fully backed by your partner. If you decide to be a housewife without having your partner agree to it, there’ll be a whole lot of problems in your relationship.
However, it is important to consider a number of things before taking on the role of a housewife.
1. Fulfillment
You had always wanted to build and take care of your family fulltime and now that you have the chance to, you feel totally at peace with yourself and you feel completely fulfilled. If the traditional housewife thing is for you, then go get it, girl!
2. Your partner
Before you decide to become a fulltime housewife, you have to discuss with your partner.
You can’t make the decision on your own. Your partner has to be on par with you.
It would be of great disservice to the both of you if he doesn’t agree and he feels like you’re a burden to him because you’re not contributing to the family financially.
3. Your finances
You might want to be a housewife, but the financial situation in your family might not support that.
Maybe a second income is needed for your family to be able to live comfortably or maybe it is needed to set up a trust fund for your children’s college.
It would be detrimental to both of you and your children if only your husband’s income isn’t sufficient for you to live comfortably.
If your financial situation isn’t okay enough for you to retire to become a fulltime housewife, postpone it until you’re financially stable.
What if?
You also have to consider the “what ifs”. Consider the worst case scenarios and make your decision.
What if your husband decides he can’t support you and the children alone any longer?
What if he loses his job and you both are stuck with a lifestyle you can’t maintain?
What if he dies and you’re stuck with a lifestyle you can’t maintain, insufficient educational qualifications, a lack of experience in working jobs and children you have to take care of?
Before choosing to be a housewife, make sure you consider the worst case scenarios too.
Understand what being a housewife entails
Housewives work. Cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry and taking care of the kids are all but a little of the work that being a housewife entails.
If you want to be a housewife because you do not want to work, then you’re in for a shock.
Work, work and more work is what a housewife has to do. A housewife normally is the first to wake up in the morning and the last to sleep at night because there’s always something to do.
A housewife doesn’t have definitive hours of work. She has to be hands-on 24/7, at all times of the day.
Housewives sacrifice a lot to just be who they are. They sacrifice for their husbands, their children and for the wellbeing of the home.
So, if the only reason you want to be a housewife is so you wouldn’t work, you are highly mistaken.
As a full housewife, you can also choose careers that don’t affect your desire to be a housewife. These careers include influencing, blogging, vlogging, freelancing, etc.
Ultimately, it is not wrong for you to want to be a housewife, but make sure it aligns with your core beliefs and values and carry your husband along too!
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