Submitted by Franki Paron - "I was much more fulfilled and a better mom when I had work outside the home ..." Raising our children was the most important and challenging work I've ever done, but I needed my career to make my life complete. Life is probably easier when one parent commits to making full-time homemaking and child-rearing their career. However, I wasn't able to find enough personal fulfillment in this choice when I tried it. I stayed home with our children for two years after our son was born and found that I was miserable without my career. While it was very busy, and at times chaotic, I found I was much more fulfilled and a better mom when I had work outside the home that was my own pursuit. There were other sacrifices that our family made, but I'm certain that my working was not one of these. Our children are successful and happy adults in large part because we were fulfilled parents.
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Submitted by Theodosia Wicktor Ahern I'm 80 years old and raised three sons. Unlike most women my age, I worked and went to school while they were growing up. I'm sure that my work helped them become the strong, self-reliant and honorable men they are today. All three of them have married strong independent women who worked while they raised their children, and all three of my boys turned out to be excellent home chefs too. It's probably because they had a working mother.
My sons were always interested in what I was doing, or where I was working. I think that contributed to their respect for women and appreciation for family. They turned out well in spite of, or maybe partly because of, the roles I had outside our home. On many Monday mornings (or Tuesdays for that matter :) I used to wake up with my mind spinning: “I am tired. I don’t want to go to work. How much longer do I have to go through this? Maybe I should just quit my job.”
But despite my inner dialogue, I managed to get up, get dressed, help my kids get dressed, make breakfast, and then, luckily, after the first cup of coffee, I felt better and more energized as I started my day. One thought that really helps me get through my days now are the words a colleague (also a working mom) once told me: Take it one day at a time. Submitted by Kathleen Helbling It's interesting and encouraging to read these stories about working parents. I was a teacher and have been retired for a while now. How far things have come since my own mother and father were making choices about their careers and family.
After World War II, it was no longer socially acceptable for women to have careers of their own. My mom had a degree in nursing and amazing business skills, but did not pursue a career; instead she took care of our home and us children. She did take care of the family finances, but people at church told her that she was reducing her husband (my dad) by doing that. Interestingly, he didn't want to manage the finances, and in fact, didn't do it very well. |
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