Proud to Be a Homemaker and You Should Be Too

When my husband and I made the decision for me to quit my job, we felt that it was best for the entire family.  I was definitely not prepared for the reactions it would receive.  Not long ago it was normal for mother and child to be together.  Somehow that has changed; people cannot seem to wrap their brains around the concept.  It's sad how much I have to defend being "just" a mother.  Any person that looks down on motherhood should spend one week caring for a two-year-old.
I can proudly say that my family gets three made-from-scratch meals each day.  We eat out probably once per month and other than that all meals are prepared by me.  I do all the laundry, dishes, and household cleaning.  Seventy hours per week are devoted to childcare.  My husband would help with the house if I let him, and he cooks dinner whenever I let him.  I just gain too much joy from providing a comfortable home to allow him to take any of that away.  Thankfully, my husband can see how hard I work.  He often tells me that he would never trade jobs with me, that he knows he couldn't do what I do.  To be fair, I couldn't do his job either.
It's nice being appreciated, but I'm still curious when things changed.  When did it become wrong for a woman to take care of her family?  It is only natural: women are nurturers.  I'm convinced that any woman that is comfortable with herself and emotionally healthy gains more satisfaction from caring for others than from anything else.  Maybe those gender-roles have some merit.  Our hormones are different, giving us different strengths than men.  Now, I don't suggest we go back to pre-suffrage times.  But I don't think today's ways are working, either.
I would not trade what I do for the world.  It may seem cliche, but I truly enjoy making apple pies (crust and all) and cheesecakes for my family to enjoy after the meal I worked on for hours.  We always have cookies and breads that I filled with love as I mixed the ingredients.  I even take the time to make my own cleaners.  Everything I do is for my family.  Even my own mother looks down upon this choice.  I understand that she's a feminist, and therefore sees the role I've chosen as demeaning.  But it couldn't be farther from the truth.  I feel more pride now, and receive more respect on a daily basis, than I did when I worked 40 hours a week for an insultingly small paycheck.
I think that if any parent, mother or father, wishes to stay home to care for their children, they should be celebrated.  Children need consistent love and attention, someone to guide them through childhood so that they may learn to steer by the time they are adults.  Families are too broken and that fragmentation is damaging for everyone.  Mothers need to be a safe place for children again; a source of comfort and nurturing.  I do believe that women are capable in the workplace.  Strong, intelligent, dedicated women change the world.  But I know that a strong, intelligent, dedicated woman changing a family is just as important.  When the world can see that it doesn't have to be one or the other --women can do both --then we will be making progress toward a more productive society.