It's quite a contrast between the life I am now living to the life I left behind last August. For six years, I worked as a teacher- one year in the Czech Republic and five at a private Christian school back home in NJ. Even before that, I had a couple of different jobs after college. I worked as a financial aid adviser at a seminary for a year, then I worked as a legal secretary.
When I meet people here in PA for the first time, or even when I talk to people I already know, some are surprised to see that I am not working. It would be one thing if I had a child to care for, but as I have none at this time, it sure looks odd in this century for a newly married woman to stay home while her husband does all the work.
People wonder, I am sure, what in the world I do all day. Well, I sit with my feet up, of course, sipping iced tea with one of those little umbrellas sticking out of the top!
My job for the past five years was very demanding. Being a teacher is one of the hardest jobs in the world, and being a literature teacher is one of the most demanding disciplines due to the nature of the work. Grading stacks of papers is no easy task, and it is one that took me hours on end. As a teacher, I felt my students deserved the best from me as I graded, so I would read papers not once, but twice to be sure I agreed with my own grade. I often commented to my mom that if I were married, my poor husband would be starved and neglected, because my work kept me so busy. I may have physically left my job at 3:30, but the hours I spent home doing additional work was countless, and no one could understand this unless they were a teacher themselves, and specifically, a literature or writing teacher.
Since I had to move to PA once Brian and I married, leaving my job was a necessity. But I knew I didn't want to do that kind of work here, where dinner each night would be a free-for-all, or a quick trip to local fast food restaurants. I knew I wanted to give my husband my best each day, and support him as much as I could. My goal is to make his life easier because I am here.
When did a two-income family become a MUST? As a housewife, I may not be churning butter and milking the cows, but I do a lot to take care of my husband, my home, and simply learn more domestic skills. It wasn't until the feminism movement that the great majority of women started to step outside of the home. I've been there already. I've done that. I'm happily embracing this new chapter in my life.
I use this time to learn how to live on less and make dollars stretch. I clip coupons and search for the better deal. I waste very little food because I know what I am cooking each week and I don't buy what I don't need. I compare prices and many times choose store brand over the big name (and I'm learning that often there isn't a difference in taste). I contemplate every purchase, deciding what is really worth it and what isn't.
When it comes to clothes shopping, there I shine. I am a bargain-hunter, and I am quite good at getting a lot for a ridiculously insane low price. Now that I am not working, I don't buy much for myself at all, but when I do, rest assured, the prices are as low as thrift store prices (better in some cases), though brand new. And even for my dear hubby, I am able to find remarkably good deals (ex: ties for $2.77 each).
I am also getting good at finding deals for the home. Curtains under $3.00? Check. Several pillows for $1.99 each? Check. One of my goals of shopping is never paying more than I have to.
Brian tells me time and again that he likes that I am home. Because I don't work, I take care of things around here and leave little for him to worry about. I get up with him at 5:20, pack his lunch, prepare his breakfast, and stand at the door ready to kiss him goodbye. I'm listening for him when he returns, running to the door when I hear him coming, and greeting him with a hug and a kiss. I have a hot meal ready and waiting for him.
To me, this is priceless, and well worth it. I love serving my husband and taking care of him, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. If that time comes where I need to go to work, as long as we have no children, then I will. But for now, I am relishing my days, enjoying the greatest job I've ever had.
