25 days to go..
Over the past few weeks, I had a chance to meet a few relatives, family friends and others. I came acros what is, perhaps, the last generation of people who have a decent percentage of homemakers. The very concept of having homemakers, the pros, the cons, the stigma and the benefits of it are debatable. The fact that Germany is fast realizing the trend of househusbands unleashed is food for thought. Generally, what does an average homemaker do everyday? ("Does she do anything?", chirps the chauvinist). That's the homemaker conundrum.
One of them, a proud mother of two children whose ages hover near the heavier side of 20's physically and mathematically, has been a homemaker for close to 25 years. With her husband gone to work for long hours, she tells me that having a television was the best thing that happened to her. She casually remarks that she just wants to have the TV left switched on irrespective of her watching it. She calls it her own company and tells me that it gives her a sense of security and calmness that everything is going well. She tells me of various instances where she would slip to sleep while watching TV, some people would see her sleeping and switch off the TV. What happened the minute the TV was switched off? She would immediately get up and lose all sleep.
Last week, I went to meet a family where the homemaker had taken up teaching school kids after they came back home. (For folks not from India, this might sound weird. But this is true! We go to school to learn. After coming back home, we'll go to a 'tuition' to learn what we learned in school.). She started teaching kids because she wanted a way to channelize her strengths for something noble.
What started as a hobby is now a full time work after 16 years. Her son joined a boarding school. What did she get in return? An opportunity to teach the friends from his former school. "I see each kid as my own kid!", she says. Her students know the house in and out, remind her to take food and medicines regularly and get nice gifts for their birthday. What started as a hobby is a perfect regimen for her.
What made them choose what they are doing is the puzzle. Let that stay in the Pandora's box for some more time.
Is that really a puzzle? I think not.
ReplyDeleteThey could have done anything. I agree with the second person's case, she is doing what she likes to do. But that's not the case with the first story. Besides, hindsights are always simplified.
ReplyDeleteOne other puzzling thing was, unlike switching jobs and companies, they have been doing this for years together. Don't they ever get bored?