Last night I watched Elimidate. I love the episodes with four women fighting over one guy because they’re so catty and the absolute shit that comes out of their mouths is hilarious. It’s also amusing to see women actually fighting over a man. These girls have so little respect for themselves…I love it! But that’s not the point. On last night’s show, one of the participating females stated that, by the time she’s 25, she wants to get married and begin a family. Immediately, two of the other three girls began to criticise her saying things like, “A family? You want to stay home barefoot and pregnant?” Then there was, “Umm…I believe in education,” and finally, my favourite, “I want to have a career. Go back to the 50’s.” I’m wondering how many women out there feel the same way toward other women who desire a life of child-rearing and home-keeping? I graduated university with Honours (in Women’s Studies, I might add), a postgraduate program, also with Honours, and countless hours of work experience in various practical fields. If I chose to, I’m sure that I could acquire a job in management within any corporation. But at 28, what I dream of is having children and being an awesome mother and writer. What many opponents of stay-at-home moms don’t understand is that raising a child IS a career. Just as you would be assigned a project at the office, and work as hard as you could on it to succeed, raising a kid is the same thing…only it’s your life-long assignment. After sampling different career fields, I decided that working in a structured corporate office wasn’t for me. I felt that it wouldn’t allow me the freedom that I crave. That’s why I decided to go into writing, freelance specifically. Sure, it’s a major pay cut, but it’s definitely worth it for me. It will enable me to be at home to raise my brood (when I have them), and not have to rely upon a stranger to teach my baby how to walk. Being a stay-at-home mother/wife doesn’t signify the oppressive nature of the pre-70’s, where women were, basically, required to stay home (see June Cleaver & Edith Bunker), but a choice in their career and life path. So, primarily, my issue is with women who look down on people like me, who have no issue with staying home, raising children and maintaining the home while their partner goes to work. Trying to maintain a 4-bedroom home with three screaming kids under the age of 6 for is harder than your toughest day at the office, guaranteed. Also note that your day can begin as early as 6 a.m. and can end as late as 11 p.m. everyday. No power lunches, no nipping out of the office for a facial, no personal days and worst of all, no two weeks’ vacation (unless your folks are super nice). Not many women can manage it and that’s why it’s an art. To all of you that had a stay-at-home parent while growing up, call them right now and thank them. Not only did they put up with your yelling and whining and vomit, but they gave up happy hour, cool clothes and sports cars just to diaper your ass!