[ISUKappa]

I can kind of see where Taualumna is coming from.

There are a lot of "household skills" that at one time all women were taught/expected to know how to do (and I say women because yes, traditionally, they were the ones who oversaw all the day-to-day household undertakings) that are now falling by the wayside because of modern conveniences. For the most part, they're only kept up by conservative religions (where it's considered "weird" by most outsiders) or hobbyists (where it's kind of cool in a quirky way).

My mom was a home-ec teacher. She taught all us girls how to cook, bake, can, sew, refinish furniture, strip and apply wallpaper, set a good table, write a proper thank you note and start new plants from cuttings. She worked outside the home while I was growing up; her mom worked outside the home while she was growing up (that was in the '50s). Most people are amazed I can make a pie crust from scratch, let alone alter my own clothes and refinish furniture.

Where am I going with this again? Oh yeah.

My sister is a SAHM (one two-year-old- and another due in August). She takes her daughter to storytime, goes on walks, runs her errands and still finds time to hand-make invitations, decorate her house and bake and frost cupcakes to resemble Sesame Street characters. (I love my sister, but damn she's a tough act to follow. I have to compete with that for the rest of my life.)

I, on the other hand, work a full-time job. My only other outside activities are volunteering with the chapter, yet I am barely able to keep my house clean. (What can I say, our dog sheds a small sweater every day and I hate laundry. And I'm lazy.)

Okay, so maybe there really isn't a point to this. Bottom line, kids or no kids, job or no job, you are the only one who needs to be happy with your choice. Funk everyone else.