Friday, May 24, 2013

If the Church Weren't so Patriarchal....

... I might have planned my life to be a stay-at-home dad.

I got to be home two days this week while Janelle was on jury duty.  I got to plant the garden, clean the garage, play board games, and even took a nap!  There might be a little bit of "grass is greener" syndrome going on here, but I could definitely see myself adjusting to it and being extremely happy staying home and raising the kids while Janelle went to work and earned our living.  

I never really considered it an option.  I was raised on the notion that the man was responsible to provide for the family and I set my goals to accomplish what was expected of me.  If I had ever been taught that I truly had a choice (in more than just a lip-service kind of way) I honestly might be a very different person than I am today.

So if Janelle ever finds a job that provides an equal or better living than mine, you'll find me at home with the girls.

1 comment:

  1. Did you get to struggle round the busy supermarket juggling babies, get the groceries put away while trying to calm kids yelling for snacks, wash a bunch of faeces-covered clothes, clean the excess from the clothes off the floor/ carpet/ kid, clean the toilet?...week, nay month in, month out, believe me, Benjamin, this drudgery palls. There are highlights, yes, but having done both, I would say without a doubt that working away from home is by far the easier and, dare I as an LDS woman say it, more fulfilling lifestyle. The monotony of home and child-related EVERYTHING, without intellectual stimulation, is soul destroying. I adore my children, and place their wellbeing at the forefront of everything I do, but my brain needs a challenging outlet, as I suspect do many people's. But good luck with that one!

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