The domestic god
It's a simple fact that women are able to multi-task: we can organise a dinner party, bathe the kids, iron, and still find time to look fabulous, appear relaxed and in control when the guests arrive 10 minutes early.
We're living in the era of the domestic goddess. We're told we must have a career, children, make a perfect home, cook, entertain and still be ready to hit the sheets with our man. Since we all need to be superwoman, what happens when the roles are reversed? Just what is the male equivalent of the domestic goddess?
I met my husband, David, at the age of 30, three years after my making it into the management of a high street bank. After my first child, I was promoted again, but my new role demanded extensive travel. So, when I found out I was having my second child, I decided to leave the bank. To help cushion the change in circumstances, I received a voluntary redundancy package - sometimes life is good.
It was a change for me, suddenly being at home with the children. I wanted to work, as I needed the stimulation, but I also wanted to be a mum. I really started to review my life. I went back to learning and started my own consultancy business, to give myself the work/life balance I so craved.
I also joined the Fawcett Society (a women's lobby group) and worked to encourage other women to recognise their own potential. I was subsequently nominated for the Yorkshire Woman of Achievement in 2001, met the current Prime Minister, the Chancellor and Cherie Booth QC.
And just when I thought everything was going well - nice home, good jobs for both of us, wonderful children, family, friends and two holidays a year - the dreaded thing happens: my husband is made redundant.
Now I am the reluctant breadwinner. But all my plans of working around the children's school times and holidays are gone. It's back to the rat race, working every hour there is, to make up for the loss of earnings. But that's not a problem, is it? My husband is at home full-time, he can take over my role as domestic goddess - or can he?
I've decided men cannot make decisions without our consultation. Things that would be second nature to a woman are alien to men. As all women know, supermarket shopping is God's way of testing our patience. But men haven't cultivated these skills yet.
On one occasion I received a call at work from my husband in a state of panic to inform me that my daughter was on her way to hospital in an ambulance. Apparently, while he was busily making his way through the checkout, our youngest managed to get onto a Postman Pat ride, took a nasty fall, cutting her chin badly enough to require stitches.
1 | 2 | next
printer friendly
send to a friend
Delicious
Digg
reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon
Horoscopes| Message Boards | Quizzes | Newsletters | Join
iVillage Ltd is a UK company registered in England & Wales (3837269) at 80-110 New Oxford Street, London WC1 1HB
