Saturday, August 09, 2003
A Saturday Post
I promised myself that I wouldn't post on weekends. At most, I was allowed to fiddle with code or look at other blogs. On weekends, I was supposed to plug away at the dreaded journal article. But I can't help myself. I just read a good peice in the Atlantic (while Ian lay on my back and the Wiggles sang in the background).
A must read for at-home moms is "Housewife Confidential" by Caitlin Flanagan in The Atlantic Monthly (Sept. 2003). I will have to set up the link later. It isn't online yet.
The article compares housewives from the 50s and 60s with at-home mothers today. The jobs are entirely different. Housewives from the 50s/60s didn't take the kids around to art class and gymboree. They were more concerned with getting the chores complete. Today, at-home moms have the opposite concerns (kids first, housework last) and even enlist others to do the floor and laundry for them.
So far, so good. I have been thinking about this a lot lately, because both my mom and my mother-in-law have pointed out the virtues of the playpens while watching Ian, destucto-baby. None of my friends use a playpen, because watching the kids is more important to them than doing the dishes. They haven't given up careers to clean, but to get Johnny all set for Harvard. Anyway, that's what I've been thinking about lately, so it was interesting to see someone else talk about it.
The article is also a bit contradictory. Sometimes the author paints a sentimental picture of home-life during the 60s and highlights the accomplishments of Erma Bombeck. But she also points out that Erma wasn't sane until she got a part-time job. Again, something that I've been thinking about.
I've ripped the article out of the mag and put it by the side of my computer. I'm going to come back to it on Monday. Now I have to brace myself for my enlightening work on education policy.
I promised myself that I wouldn't post on weekends. At most, I was allowed to fiddle with code or look at other blogs. On weekends, I was supposed to plug away at the dreaded journal article. But I can't help myself. I just read a good peice in the Atlantic (while Ian lay on my back and the Wiggles sang in the background).
A must read for at-home moms is "Housewife Confidential" by Caitlin Flanagan in The Atlantic Monthly (Sept. 2003). I will have to set up the link later. It isn't online yet.
The article compares housewives from the 50s and 60s with at-home mothers today. The jobs are entirely different. Housewives from the 50s/60s didn't take the kids around to art class and gymboree. They were more concerned with getting the chores complete. Today, at-home moms have the opposite concerns (kids first, housework last) and even enlist others to do the floor and laundry for them.
So far, so good. I have been thinking about this a lot lately, because both my mom and my mother-in-law have pointed out the virtues of the playpens while watching Ian, destucto-baby. None of my friends use a playpen, because watching the kids is more important to them than doing the dishes. They haven't given up careers to clean, but to get Johnny all set for Harvard. Anyway, that's what I've been thinking about lately, so it was interesting to see someone else talk about it.
The article is also a bit contradictory. Sometimes the author paints a sentimental picture of home-life during the 60s and highlights the accomplishments of Erma Bombeck. But she also points out that Erma wasn't sane until she got a part-time job. Again, something that I've been thinking about.
I've ripped the article out of the mag and put it by the side of my computer. I'm going to come back to it on Monday. Now I have to brace myself for my enlightening work on education policy.
