Home Life...

Being at home full time has given me a new perspective on "giving at home." When I was working full time it was very difficult to care about the house. I would do what I had to do with resentments. It wasn't that any of it was too hard or that I didn't enjoy doing them. Somewhere inside I felt like too much was being asked of me. My husband didn't do a quarter of the housework and he only but in more hours than me most weeks, not every week.

Half of our living room

As I started this out, I have a new perspective. I enjoy keeping our home nice and desire that Ron invest more time and energy in our home and us. However, I see more clearly the stress he puts on himself with 1 full-time job, 1 constant part-time job, and 3 sporadic part-time jobs. We have recently taken on house managers of the building we live in. That makes his third sporadic part time job. The other two are music related, while time consuming gives him an outlet for his artistry. As house managers we change light bulbs in common areas, do small repairs inside apartments, shovel snow, and keep an eye on everything in this six apartment three floor building. Thankfully it has no grounds to speak of. We are on a city corner so we shovel (yes, I help) two sides of the building and between the cars in our seven spot parking apron just off the street.

Seeing all I do at home and all he does outside the home. I for the first time in as long as I can remember, am without resentments. There are things that he needs to care for that I will not do, like, putting away his own laundry and tending to his own office. Neither are done on a continual basis and I try not to say much. I am hoping that in the future he will not feel a need to work outside the house so much and feel that helping here is investing in our home in our future and not just labor.