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Don't take homemakers for granted! If they stop doing what they are doing, your house will be a dump full of dirty utensils and laundry!
Don’t take homemakers for granted! If they stop doing what they are doing, your house will be a dump full of dirty utensils and laundry!
Homemaker:- /ˈhəʊmmeɪkə/- a person who manages a home and often raises children instead of earning money from a job.
I have read a few articles about the lives of a homemaker and appreciated every one of them. Thus, I am going to list out a few things that go beyond the basic definition of a ‘homemaker.’ It is, according to me, the ‘Homemaker 101,’ so to speak.
A homemaker doesn’t have a specific gender. Did you know this? Well, I am here to enlighten you. (However, mostly homemakers are women.) If you think of a homemaker and the first thing that comes to mind is a woman sitting on a couch all day, correct yourself! A homemaker can be anyone.
In reality, a homemaker does NOT sit on a couch all day. A homemaker rarely escapes the daily chores which you very conveniently put on them, because, ‘hey! They have nothing else to do.’ Apart from cleaning after you, they have too many things crammed in one day.
Doing the laundry, folding it, calling the plumber, going to the bank, making a list of places to visit on the next vacation and making bookings. They also manage the cooking, taking the kids to their hobby classes and tuitions and vacuuming the stupid couch, they do it all. This list is endless.
So the next time you ask a homemaker what they do during their day, think twice. There may be times when they pause doing what they do and sit on the couch, but they rarely stop.
Being a homemaker is a choice – a personal one. Like you choose to be an earning member of your family, a homemaker chooses to take care of the house. All you need to do is respect that.
If a homemaker is learning a new skill or an art form and trying to build a business out of it, appreciate and respect it. Don’t snigger or demean them by saying that it’s a good way to pass their time.
Art is not a pass time, it is a gift. If you have it, nurture it. And if you don’t know what interests you, look for it. Instead of sniggering and demean the homemaker, spend your time developing some skill or an art.
A homemaker doesn’t have time to binge-watch stuff. You do that on Sundays and other vacation days. But a homemaker never gets any leaves or vacations. Every day might be the same but it is still way different from the others.
They, too, have a set routine – like you have your stand-up meetings. If they miss an errand, there will be a thousand fingers pointing at them, including yours.
A homemaker doesn’t always take that afternoon nap you think they do. But if they do, they are entitled to it. Unlike some of you who are glued to a terminal all day, they do a lot of physical work and get tired. Some times, more than you!
Don’t take homemakers for granted! If they stop doing what they are doing, your house will be a dump of dirty utensils and laundry among others! Your house will have leaking taps, unpaid electricity bills and a messy backyard.
I cannot emphasise this enough – there is no shame in being a homemaker. None at all. And if you feel that way, the world will only make you feel worse.
So now that every one of us has been through the lockdowns and the self-isolation, I am hoping we understand homemakers better. Though we still don’t have to go to the bank or drop the kids anywhere, do we?
Picture credits: Still from Marathi TV series Agga Bai Sasubai
Manasi Diwakar is the author of 'Tea for Two' and a professional editor. Her work has appeared in North of Oxford, Melbourne Culture Corner, Impspired, Literary Impulse, Wingless Dreamer, The Rainbow Poems, among other places. read more...
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