I recently realized I am having a feminist dilemma. Sort of. What I mean is that I have been thinking a lot about what I would really really like to do. And what it boils down to, is that if I had unlimited funds, I would want to stop working. Which is kind of what our mothers and their mothers fought so hard against, right? They fought to be in the workplace that I would give a lot to get out of.
I could take my time cooking wonderful meals. I could take up a sport. I could play with my husband. I could play with the dog [differently, please -- get your mind out of the gutter!]. I could work on my photography. I could help out at the school, while my son doesn't mind me being there. I could find time for haircuts and manicures. We could take lots of day trips as a family. My house would be clean. My laundry would be done. Holes would be mended, buttons put back on. I could pay my bills on time, instead of shoving them somewhere to pay when I have time and then forgetting. I could finish a book -- instead of starting another one because I forgot where I was in the first one.
Maybe what I really want is to be retired. But the damn retirement calculator keeps telling me I'm going to have to work until I'm 72. 72! That is another, hold it while I do the math, 29 years. That seems somehow impossible. Even if I break it into 7 four year chunks... Maybe I can get 5 years off for good behavior.
1 comment:
We all have these fantasies of what our lives would be like if we didn't have to work. I too muse on the cleanlines and organization of my home. And, while I'm sure it would be better, I just KNOW that I would still find excuses for the clutter.
The truth is we find the time for what is really important to us, and we find excuses for putting off what is not really important to us (until we absolutely have to do it).
Even fifty years ago, women who didn't have to work did not all have perfectly kept homes. They didn't all dress like June Cleavor and cook like Betty Crocker.
Yes, many of them did spend more time with their children, and have cleaner houses. But, some recent study I read about said that parents really aren't spending that much less time with their kids than they did fifty years ago. Heck, my husband said that most of the kids he grew up with spent their days outside, away from their mothers, by everyone's design!
But, we can fantasize, can't we. I too fantasize about my life upon retirement. I'm sure it won't be as great as the fantasy. But, at least I won't have to go be somewhere else (an hour away) 230+ days a year.
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