Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Stress of a modern housewife?

To repeat a quote from Shaun Tully, a character from our well known, favourite British soap opera 'Coronation Street'....

"Aren't washing machines wonderful things! No more standing by a stream and bashing your clothes against a rock, with no time to do much else!"
With so many modern conveniences for the modern housewife, what does she do all day after the kids have been packed off to school? After the washing machine has been loaded, the quick tidy up complete and the ready meal sitting in the fridge for tonight's tea...well no wonder daytime TV is so popular!
What about the fathers role? In days gone by the children would be the responsibility of the mother. Today the man is expected to play a major part in the raising of his children....not a bad thing you may say and I would agree!
There must be a limit to the amount of time you can spend eating chocolates and watching TV, while still trying to convince the real world that being a housewife is a hard job!

12 comments:

Middle Ditch said...

Doh!!! I work part time, write scripts, cook, clean, iron (well not strictly true, husband does that), shop, blog, peg that washing on the line, take it down and fold it neatly, solve The Times cryptic crossword, do the fiendish sudoky, do the killer sudoku and I do soooo much more with my time but absolutely never watch daytime tv.

Anonymous said...

Dave,
Does your wife read this blog?, you're on thin ice if she does. Do you realise what a divorce would cost?
PS. I couldn't agree with you more though.

Anonymous said...

Dave are you takeing the piss

Middle Ditch said...

Stone the crows! That Pete is angry, isn't he? Rightfully so though.

David John Caswell said...

Dear Bambi,
May be I was being a little tongue in cheek, but you must admit there is an element of truth there! Historically life was much harsher for a woman than in modern times, both in terms of her role in the home and position in society.
Dave

David John Caswell said...

Hi Middle Ditch,
Thanks for your comments. i get used to Pete's 'cut & paste' comments, or perhaps he is a househusband with plenty of spare time 'LOL'. As for you, I'm sure you are very hard working..its depends on individuals situation. I admit many women do find life hard, especially when they have a full time job and are still expected to run the household by an unsupportive partner!
Dave.

David John Caswell said...

bsm,
Thanks for calling in..you are obviously a man of great intellect and wisdom....like myself! LOL
My wife doesn't read this blog..a good job I think!
Dave

Middle Ditch said...

I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year. Until then.

Joy said...

Dave,
Thanks for visiting my blog. This post may apply to those women with no children or whose children are in school all day, but in my house, I have three children home all day. So, the "quick tidy-up" doesn't exist. They play with toys all day long, so we're constantly cleaning up as I try to teach them to pick up after themselves. If I let them play video games all day, we'd have less mess, but I decided long ago that easier for me wasn't best for them.

I also spend a great deal of time teaching them. They have to learn so very much in those first five years before heading off to school, and it never ceases to amaze me how long it takes for a child to learn something.

With children, doing the wash actually does take awhile. I think that was one of the biggest surprises about motherhood. Not only did I have to wash children's clothes, which appear like magic at least once a day if not more, but I also have to wash my own clothes much more frequently.

However, you do point out something I've often wondered. How did women do it before the advent of all these labor-saving devices? I know one thing -- their children didn't play all day or go to five different extra activities after school! They learned to help as soon as they could walk.

David John Caswell said...

Dear Joy,
Thanks for visiting. I was being a little one sided in my point of view, so please don't take offence. From your description you sound a great Mum, who does her best for her kids despite the difficulties. You have also made some very good points, especially with regards children helping as soon as they could walk.
Will visit your blog again soon.
Kind regards David.

Anonymous said...

It's unconscious, and its spelt:
m-i-s-o-g-y-n-i-s-t

David John Caswell said...

Dear Mr Anonymous,
Thank you for the continued debate. Please be assured that I do not hate or mistrust women in general, just lazy ones! In fact this could also apply to many men!
Dave.