I have had an interesting week that has made me think a lot about working women and stay-at-home moms. On Tuesday I went to my first French class. There are 19 of us in it, and a wide variety of countries are represented. We had to go around the room and say what we do as an occupation. I went right after the Hungarian guy who had to try to explain (in very broken French) that he was an expert in animal husbandry. Needless to say, everyone else's occupation seemed less interesting after that one.
I said I was a volunteer, but the teacher didn't seem to understand that word. So I tried to explain that I was not allowed to work here and she finally said, "Ah! Femme au foyer!" which means "housewife" in French. I don't really care what I am called here because I love my life, am very happy with it, and know that I am fulfilled regardless of my title. However, there was a woman who went after me who actually let out a little shudder when she tried to explain that she was a lawyer but could not work here and the teacher had the same "Ah" moment with her. I know I just said that I am not annoyed by that title, but I got annoyed seeing this woman be so disgusted by it. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of awful thoughts she had about women who are housewives.
That evening I e-mailed Kyle that we were just having leftovers for dinner. At 8:15 he called and asked if it would be ok to invite his co-worker over who was in from Amsterdam. I had a few things in the fridge I thought I could maybe throw together but when I asked Kyle his time frame he said, "Um, we were about to walk out the door." This is a close friend/co-worker and I knew he would be happy with a simple meal, but I wanted to do something nice for him because we hadn't seen him in awhile. So in a total of 36 minutes -- from the time Kyle called until they walked in the door -- I made a dinner of homemade hummus, toasted pita chips, chicken with goat cheese and sundried tomatoes, basmati rice, a tossed salad, and white wine. Obviously each person has different things they see worthy of value, but at that moment I was happy to be more talented at welcoming someone into my home than filing a brief on anti-trust statutes.
2 comments:
Hi Emily,
I can tell you I place a lot of value on a woman who can whip up a meal like that is 36 minutes! I'm sure Kyle does too. Don't know about the hummus and goat cheese, and I don't even know what basmati rice is, but you know I would have eaten anything you put on the table. Kyle needs to give you a big hug for that accomplishment. Love, Burt
You're just like mom!!!!!! And yes you're making others happy and that is a wonderful feeling. did you defrost any bread from the freezer too? xoxo Tootie
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