MARIA writes:
I am a 35-year-old woman currently living a housewife life, without stating it loud and clear. I live in Europe, in a Western country suffering from all the evils you have been describing in your posts.
In my heart and soul, I am thrilled to be living a housewife lifestyle, even if it is in secret. It took me many years of struggling before I managed to live the life of relative ease of mind that I have now. Only when I took to dating seriously and started praying for a husband, did I meet my current husband. Even then things were not easy. He wasn’t the “Christian man” I desired and he wasn’t much into the idea of marriage either. But he is a good man, a wonderful husband and a good provider. Needless to say that if I had not married him, I would have very likely been childless and single today.
I don’t personally know any woman my age in this city who is housewife or stay-at-home mum. Actually two of them I suspect, but just like me, they are hiding in shame. We all pretend to be busy, e.g. by starting our own businesses or taking some temporary (often low-paid, quasi-intellectual) jobs here and there, all for the sake of showing that we are of course capable just like any other woman. But the stress of work, even when it is freelance or part-time work, and even if done from your own home, is simply not worth it I believe. I have heard that stay-at-home mums are quite common in the U.S., but we are an endangered species here in Europe. (Of course, Muslim women are an exception. Nobody finds it strange that they get to spend their days with their kids, and are often paid by the state to do so). (more…)