Although the topic for this week was "Fatherhood and Finances" I feel like we mostly talked about "Womanhood and the Workforce" haha No, I'm joking... partially.
My mom was a single mother up until I was about six and then she got re-married. I am so proud of her! She worked as a manager and teacher at a day care center in Montana. That place was like my second home. She would get us there early and feed us breakfast and get us ready, and then the other kids all came in and we would play and have a good time, and then the kids would go home and I would continue to play while my mom would clean everything up, and then we would go home to my grandparent's house! She was very fortunate to find a job where she could bring her children - that is usually never the case for most working mothers.
However, with the situation of working mothers, I feel like a large portion of them are not single mothers, forced to have a job. It was interesting to read about the different reasons mothers would work. For some, it is merely a case of self-fulfillment - they feel like they contribute more to the family and it gives them more routine I think. Also, for some families, they really do need that extra income. This extra income could be for a variety of reasons: hospital bills, home remodel, simply because they want more money, the husband's job doesn't pay very much, etc etc. Also, mothers might work because they feel like if they spent all that time and money getting an education, then they better use their degree or else it was a waste of time!
Which reminds me of our latest discussion board - there were many who stated the opinion that women who get an education before becoming mothers just become that much better at mothering! I absolutely agree with them! School is more than just a degree. It teaches social skills, perseverance, how to get things done, how to influence others when you are in a group, knowledge for things such as paying bills, and once you get into college it really teaches you important homemaking skills such as cleaning and cooking. I think that you get out of school what you want, so if you're only in it for the degree, well, congrats, you'll get it. But if you're in it for more than just a degree, then you will learn so much more!
For me personally, I'm going to school because I want options. Life is not what we expect, you can plan and plan all you want, but there's always going to be something that you didn't plan for. I feel more confident about the life I will have now that I'm going to school. Hopefully I can just be a stay at home mom, but I know that there are many other lifestyles that could await me. Maybe I won't get married until I'm 28, maybe my husband will get laid off or even die, maybe he really wants to be a garbage man because that was his dream since he was five and I want to support him in that so he can go be a garbage man and I'll work to help get us a little more money, maybe after all our kids are grown I'll want to be able to do something other than sit at home, maybe I'll get divorced. These things are never planned! It's not like I can go through each year of my life and outline what will happen to me! Going to school and getting a degree for a job will open so many doors for me - and they're doors that I can keep closed until I decide it's time to open them!
Anyways... those are my thoughts. Enjoy!
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