Self-Esteem of the Homemaker

So I'm a homemaker, what's self-esteem got to do with it?  A whole lot I can tell you.....I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would be a housewife, uh homemaker I mean.  The picture I had of myself was that I would have some high-flying career and I would travel the world saving humanity.  So I studied and worked hard, got a Masters degree and all.  So being a housewife was totally opposite from what I had planned.

Do you understand, dear reader, what it means to be a housewife?  You do all sorts of house chores and it all seems normal until you miss a spot and someone is making comments.  You take care of your family, especially the kids.  It's worse when they are tiny and can't speak.  You don't get paid for the jobs you do and what you do is priceless  You start to wonder why this is what you ended up doing after all the time and money spent getting a degree.

It's bad enough when you go out and you say you are a housewife.  People generally think that housewives are lazy and idle..  From the friend or neighbour who wants to keep you busy with free baby sitting, to the person out there that asks why you husband could not open a shop for you.  A SHOP!!!! For crying out loud what am I supposed to sell?!

It's worse still when you have to depend on your husband financially in a period when money is scarce.. All these factors have a great effect on your self-esteem. When you cannot really meet up with some financial obligations to your extended family and they start to wonder what you are doing sitting at home. Oh I forgot to mention how it feels when you see your course mates doing seemingly well and getting fat salaries.

You've really got to be high on self-esteem to believe that you are doing the right thing, if not you'll find yourself having to justify your existence as a person.

How have I coped?  I'll let you know in my next post.....tudulu....

Housewife or Homemaker

So I'm filling out my details on a form and then comes the occupation line.  What do I fill?  Housewife....Ok.... So I'm a housewife, have been since I relocated to Naija in 2009.  It wasn't planned that way, the plan was to join my husband and get a job, only the job-hunting wasn't successful and I got pregnant.  Anyways, when I first got back home it was alright for a few weeks until I started getting frustrated with sitting at home.  It wasn't so much the sitting at home that was getting to me but the fact that I couldn't do the things I had to do when I wanted to do them.  If you live in Nigeria you will understand when I say even a housewife can get frustrated by the PHCN.  So many things that need to be done need electricity so it was really getting to me.

So I'm a housewife....actually I found that it sounds posh to say I'm a homemaker; either way I've found that it's the most difficult job to do so I don't really blame the women who refuse to be housewives.  It's not just difficult in terms of the labour but also in terms of a woman's self-esteem and the way she is being viewed by society which makes even something as mundane as filling out a form sometimes really difficult.

How have I coped with this so far?  This is what the Holy Spirit laid upon my heart to document here.  I wonder who will be so interested as to read it but that's really none of my business. I am doing this in obedience to my Father and with that in mind I know this will be a blessing to you, my dear reader and even me.  So until I come back, happy reading!