Ah yes. I'm feeling a bit cynical. If you want to skip the cynical part of this post, just click away from here now or enjoy the photo I took of the view from my deck on this election day. Because it is a beautiful day in the gardens.
But if you're still reading, well, you were warned.
I overheard a conversation between two women the other day and it stunned me deep down. I don't know when we became who we are.
One of the women was telling the other one about a conversation she'd had with her husband who had recently lost his job. He'd worked for the same employer for around 30 years and then one day, he no longer worked for that employer. For all of those 30 years, the man got up and went to his job and the woman stayed home and was a housewife and mother.
He had worried and fretted about his job ending for the past few years, and then one day, it did.
The woman told her friend, the other woman, how angry her husband had become through those past few years of fretting. And then how he was shocked and hurt and angry that his life had suddenly drastically changed.
The woman, in addition to being a housewife and mother, was a daughter and caregiver to her aging parents who lived nearby. And not surprisingly, when her husband's life suddenly drastically changed, hers did too, but not really. She was still a housewife and mother and daughter and caregiver, but now she also had a very angry husband around the house all of the time.
And then she told her friend about the conversation she'd had with her angry unemployed husband.
One day, he told her that since he no longer had his job, that maybe it was time for her to get a full-time job with insurance. He had taken his turn and now it was her turn to work. Somewhat dismayed, she pointed out that even though she had a college degree, she wouldn't be able to get a job that paid what he had earned, and besides, what about the housekeeping and mothering? Who would do those tasks? And what about her parents?
That is when her husband said, "So, you take off a day for the funeral."
And I keep hearing that conversation over and over in my head and I keep asking myself when did we become this?
1 comment:
Oh, that is so sad. What a sad, sad story.
So many people carrying so many burdens. Was it always thus? Do you remember when I asked if our parents lives were less complicated? Were they less angry? I believe there must have been a little more security. My dad worked for only 2 companies that I remember and he retired with the whole gold watch thing. Does such a thing happen anymore?
I worked for a company where they gave a woman a potted plant after working 35 years in the file room as a clerk. Now I hear there are soon to be no more file clerk jobs.
You pose a good question. When did this happen?
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