Posted by . September 6th, 2011 at 2:41 pm. Leave a comment.

OK, now before anyone gets their panties in a bunch, I said SOMETIMES! And hear me out.

They say you should do what you love, right? Well, I love to do the following things: Plan meals, plan menus, cook, bake, clean (kind of), organize things, plan trips and activities (i.e. day trip to the beach, apple picking in the fall), decorate, throw parties (birthday, dinner, all of the above) and wear an apron. I love wearing an apron.

I also love kids. Not just in the “Oh sure, kids are great, I think I’ll have some one day” kind of way. In the “I’ve babysitting since I was 11 (OK, I was a Mother’s Helper at 11, full-fledged babysitter at 13), was a summer nanny, went on family vacations with the families I worked for” kind of way. I have a pretty good idea of what I’d be getting into.

When work gets me down or I’m tired of commuting and I think of my future, I think that I wouldn’t hate being a housewife. I think I’d like it and that I’d be good at it.

Now, I am aware that this is extremely unrealistic. The days are long gone where having a stay-at-home parent is the norm. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of people who don’t want that lifestyle.

Recently, I was out with a group of my girlfriends from college and we almost all agreed that in an ideal situation, we would not work full-time after having kids.

Not one of us was very adamant about having a career. We might just be in that quarter-life crisis stage (we are all 26 this year) and the idea of working full-time for eternity is a little daunting.

Or, are there a lot of young women who feel this way? And does it say something about our generation? I wonder if there is a niche in our age group that has seen the career struggles of women before us and would like to opt out of that lifestyle. Working Girls before us paved the way so we could have opportunities and choices. But given those choices, how many of us would rather be housewives?

A year ago I would have told you that I planned on being Super Working Mom one day. Now, I’m not so sure. Do I still want that or would I be content as a housewife? What I enjoy doing falls under the housewife category. But the reality is, I will likely be a working mother whenever the time comes. Which is WAY down the road so it’s far too early to really be worrying about this.

But yeah. After a terrible day at work, I’ve thought “I just want to be a housewife.”

13 Comments ( Reply )

  1. MonsteRawr
    Sep 06, 2011 @ 5:59 pm

    Been there, done that, tried to throw myself into traffic. It was awful. Even with a part-time job, I felt completely useless. I was bored, I was restless, I didn’t feel like I had any purpose. Without anything driving me forward, I found myself becoming lazy and spending way too much time watching tv. It was not a me I was particularly proud of. No matter how much the early mornings and the late nights suck, no matter how many weekends I have to work or soulless corporates I have to deal with, I will always prefer to be working.

    • Working Girl One
      Sep 08, 2011 @ 11:19 pm

      It’s definitely not for everyone. And I’m not sure it’s even for me. I imagine it is one of those situations where you won’t know for sure until you’ve tried it.

  2. Amy
    Sep 07, 2011 @ 11:20 am

    I’m pregnant now, due in November, and ask myself this question every day. I’m planning to come back to work full time after maternity leave ends, but I second guess myself constantly. There’s something that sounds appealing about staying home with the baby for sure, even on a part time basis. I’m totally expecting to reevaluate my decision as the weeks off tick by and maybe come up with some kind of part time arrangement with work, or working from home. I love cooking, baking, organizing, decorating, and yes, cleaning too!

    • Working Girl One
      Sep 08, 2011 @ 11:21 pm

      First of all, congrats! Second, good luck working out what to do about work. That’s got to be one of the toughest decisions, you just have to find something that works for you!

  3. Nicole Martin
    Sep 09, 2011 @ 12:37 pm

    Found this post because we were both featured over at Profession Gal :) This seriously hits home… I’m slightly older than you and at the point of discussing “family expansion” with my husband. My mother stayed at home with me and my siblings, and I will be forever grateful that she was able to do so. I’m constantly reminding myself to be present in my life now, so it terrifies me to think about needing to be there for a child. But then again, I’ve heard that things change once you have children, and that your priorities shift a bit. And, with so many others blogging about careers, I think that our niche will shift to include how to deal with being a working mom (if that’s the option we take). Again, great post and thanks for being so honest!

    • Working Girl One
      Sep 10, 2011 @ 10:39 pm

      Thanks Nicole! I totally get what you are saying. I’ve always been one of those people who is thinking about and preparing for the next thing, I constantly have to remind myself to live in the moment. But sometimes it’s important to think ahead.

  4. Kirby
    Sep 09, 2011 @ 6:33 pm

    I used to think that I’d be bored, or that I would somehow not be living up to the standards of what women can do now (ie: do it all). At 26, I’m not sure I even want kids, but I think I would love to be a housewife. I enjoy cooking baking and cleaning. I think I would take classes, learn photography, have a really well trained dog, garden, be able to take yoga or pilates during the day, go out for lunch, travel, decorate. Of course, you’d need a partner who made enough money to support this lifestyle. I thought maybe it was because I don’t love my current job, but I don’t know, sometimes I think it would be nice.

    • Working Girl One
      Sep 10, 2011 @ 10:40 pm

      Oh girl, that’s the exact same spot I’m at. I don’t love my current job and definitely think it’d be nice to be a housewife. Who knows what will happen!?

  5. Tatum
    Sep 12, 2011 @ 1:29 am

    as a housewife, a first time mom to a 7 month old, and a career girl who owns her business and works from home, i think i can say that i have it all … at least technically speaking. if that’s the case, then why am i still wondering if i should strictly focus on being a housewife and mom and quit working from home, or if i should continue as is and constantly live all stressed out from feeling like i have no time for anything? i may be home all day, but i don’t have time to cook as often as i’d like, take fun yoga classes or decorate the nursery or my house to my heart’s desire. and how i’d love a garden! but i just get exhausted thinking about it. if you’re just a housewife with no kids and not working, then, yeah, that would be super fun, but everyone would wonder why the heck you’re not doing anything useful. so you work. then you want to have a family. a kid is SO MUCH WORK, and harder than any “actual” job i’ve ever done (and more rewarding, i’ll gladly add). but you still like to work. so what to do? what i did, is i grew a small clientele so i could work from home and be with my kid. but you know what? it’s still work and still takes me away from the time i could be spending with my kid and other things. sure, more flexible, but work just the same. so it’s still a constant battle. sigh. my husband does make enough to support us without my income, so i know it’s completely my decision on what to do. but i have no idea what to do. double sigh.

    • Working Girl One
      Sep 20, 2011 @ 9:34 pm

      Good luck, Tatum! I can’t imagine juggling it all, I’m sure you’ll get into a good groove.

  6. Paula
    Sep 18, 2011 @ 2:32 pm

    I once thought I would always work – even after children. Then, I had a little girl and had to go back to work. I thought I would die when I left that little tiny baby at home. I thought about her constantly, and I loved my job. I was successful and happy at work, but I missed my baby more. When I became pregnant again, my husband and I planned that would transition to a stay at home mom. When I finally quit, the panic attacks started! Work had consumed so much of my time. After a month or so, I got into a routine, started really enjoying time with my 2 year old, and missed work less and less. (I still teach a class or two online, and that is work but nothing like working away from home 50 hours a week.) Now, my stay at home mom life is being threatened, and I’m devastated. I’m not afraid of going back to work, and I think one day I’d like that. But now, I have two little girls and want nothing more than to continue to be their mom. They won’t be little forever, and I want to be the one to raise them! One day, I do want to get back into the workforce, but I think nothing is more important than giving my babies the gift of being their mommy.