Whether we like it or not, the majority of us become our parents. Whether you catch yourself saying something that your mom used to always say, or you attempt to bake the family recipe, we all take parts of our parents with us. In a way, we become them. I used to think I was much different than my parents. I thought they made me do too many chores. I thought it was unfair that my dad didn't have to do any work around the house. I thought so many different things while growing up, that have changed. Now, I see that, had they not made me work hard to help out around the house, that I wouldn't be the motivated, independent person that I am today. I would be the person who relies on everyone around me for everything. And now, I can rely only on myself.
The more I date, the more I realize how blessed my parents are. They have stuck together through thick and thin. My mom worked until she had kids, and then she was a stay at home mom while my dad worked. She ran a design/alterations company out of the house part time for many years. She did all of the housework. They are still happily married. Of course they go through rough patches like any other married couple. But, maybe they have it figured out. The secret to living a divorce-free marriage, could lie in the career decisions we make. I decided to think about all my other relatives and see if there was a trend. Do 1950's style mom-stays-home marriages last? Are all of the marriages with two working parents crumbling at their foundations?
So, I did a survey on my facebook page, and here are the results:
Mom stayed home prior to school-age, parents still married: 13
Mom stayed home prior to school-age, parents are divorced: 2
Mom worked prior to school-age, parents still married: 2
Mom worked prior to school-age, parents are divorced: 2
While these numbers do not necessarily represent the general population, I think it does show that more so than not, having a stay at home mom while your children are very young, can be the key to a happy and long marriage. Good luck to you in figuring out what works best for you, but learn from your parents' mistakes and from their successes, because we are more like them than we'd like to admit.
xoxo
Please fill out the poll below, it is completely anonymous, I will never be able to tell who has voted. Thanks for your help in my research of this topic.
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