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DEAR RETRO HOUSEWIFE
Is 19 Too Young To Be A Housewife?, 2009-07-08
I'm a newlywed who is in quite a dilemma. I've always planned on going to college, but as far as a career, to me, nothing would be more fulfilling than being a housewife. Cooking delicious meals, keeping a tidy home, and actually raising my children when I have them, sounds like heaven. I've talked to my husband, he loves the idea and supports me 100%. But is 19 too young to be a housewife?
Gina
RE: Is 19 Too Young To Be A Housewife?
Hmmm. 19. This is a tough question for me to answer as you are one year older than my daughter. If she were posing the question, there would be a lot of yelling coming out of my mouth and once I got passed the AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! stage of my yelling, I would be saying things like "Are you out of your bloody mind?" But you are not my daughter and are already married and as such are a full fledged adult.
My advice is the same, however. Go to school. Get a degree, at least from a 2 year college. You need to have a marketable skill in today's world - even if it is a just-in-case skill. Also, what gave you the idea that being a housewife means it is OK to be uneducated? You probably need more education to be a top-notch housewife and mother than you do for many other jobs. You won't have a boss telling you what to do - you have to think for yourself, juggle a multitude of responsibilities in a variety of areas and make decisions that are always complicated by emotional involvement. You can't just quit and get another family if things don't turn out like you had hoped they would - at least not without substantial pain and cost.
Learn, Learn, Learn. Knowledge is power and the decisions you make every day will directly impact those that you care about most. You want to be able to make informed decisions - about which groceries to buy so your family gets proper nutrition - which school your kids should attend -which plants in the garden are poisonous- which chemical cleaning agents are lethal when mixed- how to save money and what investments to make so you and your husband can comfortably retire and your kids can go to college. Can you balance a check book? Understand basic contracts, such as those with your creditors? Have you ever done your own taxes? Made a budget? Your husband may take care of those things, but you should be able to fill in when needed - because at some point, it will be needed.
The more you bring to the table the better off you and your husband will be - and the topper is that your kids will look up to you and expect you to know all that grown-up stuff. Make sure you do.
RH
Status: COMPLETE
