The irrelevance of being a housewife

“So, what are you doing?” enquired an acquaintance to my friend, in askance, that almost made her see red. I have always noticed that this happens to her whenever such a question is posed.  She cringes and tries to avoid answering it or simply changes the topic. But by the looks of the situation, there seemed no escape but to reply to the question. “Well..... I’m a housewife... er..... a homemaker,” She mumbled in an almost apologetic tone. The acquaintance smirked, “Why aren’t you doing anything?” It seemed like she knew what was coming through and I could see her pity herself at the irrelevance of being a housewife.

“This is the umpteenth time I’m asked as to why I am not doing anything. So looking after the house, cooking, overlooking the expenses and yet saving up to buy that drool worthy object, bringing up children, taking their lessons, teaching them to be good human beings, tending when family members are sick........and the list goes on, is not doing anything?  Probably, you are worthy only if you are ...well... working... a salary, a position in an esteemed organization, a fancy designation -something like a business enabler... whatever that means. It does not matter where you are placed in the organisational hierarchy. Working is equated with doing something fruitful otherwise you are just whiling away your time.” Phew! That was some talk! I wanted to suggest that she join some place where she can give lectures, but looking at the situation, I thought it would be wise to just shut up!

She continued, “One of my friends was called to give a lecture in a prestigious institution and it is a topic on which I could have waxed eloquent. But the reason I was left out was just one..... You are not working, are you? So how could somebody introduce a housewife to an audience ... ‘Ladies and gentlemen.... this is so-and- so, a housewife’? Do you think the audience would sustain interest? Na...aah... Again in an alumni meet, only ‘achievers’ were invited. Me??? Are you joking? Do they want to tell the audience – here is such and such person.... a... well... a housewife? I think it is high time that housewives too demand salaries for the thankless jobs that they keep doing day in and day out... and that too without any perks!”

I could see that she has a point here. I have always wondered as to why a housewife is not invited to speak on... let’s say... “How to keep up the morale while doing thankless jobs” or “how to remain happy in no-go situations” or “how to deal with household stress”.... One can go on and on. That’s when I hit upon an idea which I conveyed to my friend.

Now whenever anybody asks her what she is doing, she says very confidently that she is a manager, a part time instructor, a life coach, consultant and her hobbies include reading, cooking, painting and designing the interiors. It goes without saying that she gets impressive glances. I’m sure that someday she’ll be invited to deliver a lecture on how she handles so many designations with ease!