Ryshell Castleberry, a Florida tattoo artist and mother, was tired of how stay-at-home moms have to constantly justify the fact that they don’t have to leave their homes and go to a job every day.
So, she created a hypothetical discussion between a husband who complains to his therapist about the fact that his wife doesn’t “work” in defense of housewives.
The conversation starts with…
“P: what do you do for a living Mr. Rogers?
H: I work as an accountant in a bank.
P: Your wife?
H: She doesn’t work. She’s a housewife.
P: Who makes breakfast for your family?
H: My wife, because she doesn’t work
P: What time does your wife wake?
H: She wakes up early because it has to be organised. She organizes the lunch for the children, ensures that they are well-dressed and combed, if they had breakfast, if they brush their teeth and take all their school supplies. She wakes with the baby and changes diapers and clothes. Breastfeeds and makes snacks as well.”
[Sh/imgsrc]
Do you see the hypocrisy setting in yet? No? Read further…
“P: How do your children get to school?
H: My wife takes them to school, because she doesn’t work.
P: After taking their children to school, what does she do?
H: Usually takes a while to figure something out that she can do while she is out, so she doesn’t have to pack and unpack the carseat too many times, like drop off bills or to make a stop at the supermarket. Sometimes she forgets something and has to make the trip all over again, baby in tow. Once back home, she has to feed the baby lunch and breastfeed again, get the baby’s diaper changed and ready for a nap, sort the kitchen and then will take care of laundry and cleaning of the house. You know, because she doesn’t work.
P: In the evening, after returning home from the office, what are you doing?
H: Rest, of course. Well, I’m tired after working all day in the bank.”
And a stay-at-home parent’s job doesn’t end in the evening, unlike his or her “working spouse.” They continue to toil all night long.
[imgsrc caption="Flickr/Liz and Eli" link="https://www.flickr.com/photos/liz_and_eli/4379714750/in/photolist-7F2bBh-5UDREr-nAzEHm-5E78WD-7A6axe-hJcHtK-btnHVo-wY1TZ-8kbzxQ-5Bfv32-G7W2t9-7jRZ1c-7kLjN5-dTbcjo-dhB88y-eagX4d-5f2Z7u-a1EEAo-RAngtv-961FWW-9FJYdu-6qE4a-nFS5g5-niPLRr-bFRXnT-hZC8R-dxC7yN-8T4Xn8-8q6nX4-nbH3vp-6EoBSE-C6gHB-aVqKYk-7Uz7fe-3sSrgG-8gh6Z5-7D1kRh-2St9zd-g79eG3-8oYo1v-nSxXaM-9sq11H-d2TkzL-9suisY-4g2feh-87zXBL-8jfpxH-fdWMqo-fdGtqX-Ghpq1o"]
“P: What does your wife do at night?
H: She makes dinner, serves my children and I, washes the dishes, orders once more the house, makes sure the dog is put away as well as any left over dinner. After helping children with HW she gets them prepared to sleep in pajamas and the baby is in fresh diapers, gives warm milk, verifies they brush their teeth. Once in bed she wakes frequently to continue to breastfeed and possibly change a diaper if needed while we rest. Because she doesn’t have to get up for work.”
The conversation shows that some are completely blind to the fact that even though a stay-at-home mom doesn’t go to “work” they have multiple jobs that keep them “working” all day and night long.
“This is the daily routine of many women all over the world, it starts in the morning and continues until the wee hours of the night,” Castleberry explains. “This is called ‘doesn’t work’?! Being a housewife has no diplomas, but has a key role in family life! Enjoy and appreciate your wife, mother, grandma, aunt sister, daughter… because their sacrifice is priceless.”
And just how many jobs does a housewife really have?
About 15 jobs that she performs in the course of 24 hours every… single… day.
“Somebody asked her…
You are a woman who works or is it just “housewife”??
She replied:
I work as a wife of the home, 24 hours a day..
I am a mother,
I am a woman,
I am a daughter,
I’m the alarm clock,
I’m the cook,
I’m the maid,
I am the master,
I’m the bartender,
I’m the babysitter,
I’m a nurse,
I am a manual worker,
I’m a security officer,
I’m the advisor,
I am the comforter”
Unlike someone with a “real job,” the job of a housewife doesn’t come with any vacation time or benefits.
“I don’t have a vacation,
I don’t have a licence for disease.
I don’t have a day off
I work day and night,
I’m on duty all the time,
I do not receive salary and…
Even so, I often hear the phrase:
‘but what do you do all day?'”
Castleberry’s Facebook post has gone viral was shared more than 412,000 times.
She hopes people will think twice before they ask a stay-at-home mom what exactly it is that she does all day.
“Dedicated to all the women who give their lives for the welfare of their families,” she writes. “The woman is like salt: Her presence is not remembered, but its absence makes everything left without flavor.”
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
