Ouch – That Hurt

As written in my previous article I approached my psychologist friend to find out how to make 3-6 old children more social and friendly in the post Covid period. I spent more than half an hour learning ways to do that from her and decided to share the ideas on this platform. 
           In the evening when I went down for a walk I saw a young lady playing on the swings with her 4 year son. She was an ex- student of mine.( I was a languages tutor for nearly 20 years with special emphasis on English and French). Very enthusiastically I approached her, eager to share the knowledge I had just learnt. Well her son never talked or played with anyone so I felt she would appreciate my input. She listened to what I had to say and then said-“ aunty I don’t have time for any of this, my husband and I take turns to sit with him in the morning when class is going on – online learning. To cover up for the lost time then we have to work extra hours in the evening. We haven’t allowed the helper to take him anywhere because she is not following the Covid protocol seriously. Who has the time to do what you are suggesting?? Anyways you wouldn’t understand- you were JUST a housewife!!”

JUST a housewife?? That was like showing a red flag to a bull!! But I decided to make a dignified retreat. I forgot my walk and came back home, mumbling about ungrateful people. My son saw me and asked,” what happened?” I told him the entire story,expecting sympathy that I was the best housewife possible etc etc( that’s a bit of a lie😊). My son said -“ you should have told her that she has this good job because of “the housewife”- when she had joined you  for tuitions ,she was failing  in English and 8 years later she scored 96 percent in CBSE boards thanks to your hard work- year after year”. Damn ! I should have thought of that answer. Maybe next time I meet her…🤔🤔

We celebrate Women’s Day very enthusiastically, more often than not, interviewing ladies who managed to juggle work, home and having a high post. I am sure these ladies have 24/7 help with them and someone to take care of the children. I can still hear my mom in law saying- “you can keep a cook but the Roti should be made by you for your child”. Something about cooking with love ….

I think being a housewife is the toughest job. As there is no remuneration- in fact kids are always asking you for money- as if the mom works with the bank of England. Or maybe because she is a soft target- a few tears and she willingly parts the money. And of course you can’t get sick leave unless you are dying. And last but not the least – very little appreciation is given to the “lady of the house”. I know it’s sounds as if I am whining but I have seen this happen in so many households that it really hurts to see all that labor of love go un-noticed.

I think we need to designate a special day – “Housewife Day” and then finally maybe all the thousands of women who have toiled endlessly for their families will get recognized- even if for a day – at least it’s a start. People who agree with me say-YES!! 😊😊