I was the nerd who really liked school. Maybe I didn't like waking before dark or doing algebra homework on the pep bus on the way to games, but I liked school. I liked the smell of my textbooks and filling in my weekly planner with the big dates listed in each course's syllabus. In college, I liked writing research papers and I liked talking about the research my classmates were doing. I liked lifting hefty, spine-worn books that I would never choose to read in my spare time and knowing that by the end of the semester they'd have all been read and dissected.
I think because I liked school so much, I never envisioned myself being a "housewife" or "stay at home mom" or "unemployed woman" (pick whichever term you like best). A lot of it could have been the menial, technical, and isolated job I ended up with after graduate school, but suffice it to say that working was not nearly as stimulating to me as schooling had been. I felt myself growing stagnant, falling into routine, slipping into this groove in which it seemed I'd never learn anything ever again.
Then I was laid off and newly pregnant to boot and my husband agreed I should stay home and work on getting some freelance jobs and preparing a home for our new baby. I was worried about making this work. I still am, but I must say I've learned a lot more in these past two months of staying home than I did the year and a half I spent as a "career woman."
For one thing, I've learned how to make beets. More than that, I've learned what raw beets look like sitting on the stand at a farmer's market. I've learned that there is no such thing as a beet that is too big. I've learned how to rinse and cook even the beet greens and serve those with vinegar and rice. I've learned that my husband (the ultimate hater of all things vegetable) absolutely loves beets. Eight years of marriage, and I'm only now learning this!
I've learned that the absolute worst time to go to the gym near our house is 10:30am because that is when the janitor vacuums the area around the treadmills and because, when he does so, I am unable to hear my fiction podcasts from The New Yorker and NPR. I've learned the best time to go is 6:30am when the retirees come in with their fresh makeup and knobby, old man knees and flirt with one another.
I've learned that my ferocious, twelve-pound miniature pincher can walk right past a playground full of screaming toddlers but will try to attack any fluffy, four-legged animal within her line of sight. I've learned that the two 90 pound black beasts we sometimes see on our walks are terrified of her.
I've learned that Wednesdays are the best days to shop at the local market nearby because that is the day the previous week's specials overlap with the upcoming week's specials. I've learned that everything in that store is overpriced unless it's on sale, but if it's on sale it's normally the best deal in town. I've learned how to shop best deals in town online.
I've learned that the teenaged girl who sometimes stays with the older couple next door to us can scream until your heart breaks for her and that, if I stand in the far corner of our house near the piano, I can hear her crying.
I've learned that the middle-aged father of two in the upstairs unit across the path is also an artist, and that if I wake early enough I can see him painting before he leaves for work. I've learned that seeing him paint that way in the dark mornings when everyone else is asleep makes me inexplicably happy.
I've learned that even when I'm home all day, I am selfish with my time and reluctant to call people. I've learned a good remedy to my selfish hoarding of time is going to a Tuesday morning Bible Study, where I've learned the names of women who know where I am and what I'm going through. I've learned the days go quicker when I'm sweeping and freelancing and walking and cooking than they ever did when I commuted two hours a day.
All in all, I've learned that I really like this whole housewife gig and I hope it works out for a good while longer.
No comments:
Post a Comment