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A proud homemaker 自豪的家庭主妇 1 When hearing the word housewife, what comes to your mind? For many people, it's a picture of domestic discontent. Critics of the housewife style in the 1950s seem to find it disgusting that a woman should make it her life's work to raise children, clean dishes, and make homemade meals, creating a healthy, happy home. Are we so afraid of going backward that we're too quick to condemn a different lifestyle? 当听到“家庭主妇”这个词时，你想到的是什么？对许多人而言，“家庭主妇”的形象就是对家务琐事充满抱怨不满。19世纪50年代的家庭主妇毕生的工作就是养孩子，洗盘子，做饭，创建一个健康、快乐的家庭，批评家对这样的生活极其反感。我们是不是因为太害怕倒退而过快地去谴责不同的生活方式呢？ 2 I remember my own working days before I settled down as a full-time homemaker. For the duration of time that I was working full time, I came home late, heated up a prepackaged dinner for my family, and busied myself with housework until crawling into bed each night, exhausted. My calendar overflowed with little quality time for family or myself. I experienced the same situation growing up in a household with two working parents. My childhood was spent fussing over daily household tasks, trying to keep control before all the work could be compounded and get out of control. I appreciate my parents' hard work, but a childhood only lasts a short while before it's gone forever. I can't in good conscience let my children look back and wish we had spent less time folding wrinkled clothes and more time together as a family. 我记得我自己工作的那会儿，那是在我安心当全职家庭主妇以前的事。在我干全职工作的那段期间，我回家很晚，为我的家人加热了包装食品作为晚餐后，就忙于家务，每天晚上直到疲惫不堪才爬上床。我的日程表排得满满的，几乎没有全心照顾家人或自己的宝贵时间。我生长在一个父母是双职工的家庭，所以我的成长经历了类似的情况。为努力使情况不恶化或失控，我的童年是在紧张忙碌的家庭事务中度过的。我感谢我父母的辛劳，但童年只是人生一个瞬间，一去不复返。扪心自问，我不能让我的孩子们回头看时，后悔当初没有少花点时间折叠打皱的衣服，而有更多的时间陪伴家人就好了。 3 From my time in the workforce, I know how tiring and stressful a 9 to 5 grind can be. I love being able to support my husband when he comes home from work, yawning and exhausted. I get extra joy knowing that arriving to a clean, relaxing house and having a delicious meal are therapy for his stress. Even more importantly, he did many fragments of my job when I was away on business trips: He took care of the house, the children and every detail. So, he knows that my job as a housewife is a tough, demanding 24/7 job. This joint understanding and respect makes our current arrangement a joy to live with and a good example for our children. 在我工作的那段时间，我了解到朝九晚五的苦差事是何等劳累和紧张。我很高兴在我的丈夫打着呵欠、疲惫不堪地下班回家时能给他支持。当我知道回到一个干净舒适的家和吃上美味佳肴能舒缓他的压力时，我感到格外的喜悦。更重要的是，当我之前出差离家时，他帮我做过许多零碎的家务：照料房子、照看孩子、关注一切细枝末节。正因为此，他了解到家庭主妇是一个要每周干7天每天干24小时的艰苦且要求高的工作。这种共同的理解和尊重，使我们目前的生活充满了喜悦，也为我们的孩子树立了一个很好的榜样。 4 When I first converted to being a housewife, unemployment was embarrassing. However, now I know it's wrong to think of a housewife as anything but challenging and important. My daily life is comprised of making breakfast, lunch, and dinner for my family, vacuuming the interior of the household, doing laundry and dishes, taking care of the lawn and garden, and working on my journalism skills. My life resembles the 1950s conservative housewife in the modern world, but I don't feel an ounce of discontent. Cooking, for example, is one of my passions, and I can include hobby into my daily life. Every day, I reject packaged meals full of preservatives and unhealthy ingredients in favor of good, oven-cooked vegetables and protein. I enjoy the process of cooking as well as the result. My loved ones have more energy, better moods, and we've lost some weight in the process. Furthermore, I finish my work early and can spend time in the evenings sitting on the couch talking with my family or playing board games rather than bouncing around cleaning. 当刚开始转换角色成为家庭主妇时，我感到了失业的尴尬。不过，现在我知道那种认为家庭主妇的工作一点都不具挑战性和重要性的想法是大错特错的。我的日常生活包括为我的家人准备早餐、午餐和晚餐，打扫房间，洗衣服，刷碗，照料草坪和花园，并努力提高新闻工作所需的技能。我的生活就像现代版的20世纪50年代保守家庭主妇的生活，但我不觉得有丝毫不满。例如，烹饪是我所热衷的，我可以把业余爱好用到我的日常生活中。每天，我拒绝使用含防腐剂和不健康成分的包装食物，而是做健康的、用炉子烧熟的蔬菜和蛋白质食物。我喜欢烹饪的过程，也享受自己做的菜。我的亲人有更多的精力，更好的心情，在此过程中，我们的体重也有所下降。此外，我早早地完成了我的工作后，就可以在晚上有时间坐在沙发上与我的家人说话或玩棋盘游戏，而不是跳上跳下地做清洁工作。 5 Of course, I don't receive an income for my hours of hard work, but my husband and I are a team, and we decided democratically that we would rather enjoy living a life with more family time and less money. We've had to trim the unnecessary things and learn to tolerate living without. Trying to explain the difference of income and lifestyle to our children was a particularly difficult episode. Fortunately, I have kept a part-time job writing for medical periodicals to supplement our income. 当然，我的辛勤工作没有任何收入，但我和我丈夫是一个团队，我们通过协商决定，我们宁愿少一点钱，但要与家人有多一点在一起的时间享受生活。我们已削减了不必要的开支，学习忍受没有丰富物质的生活。给孩子们解释收入降低和生活方式改变是件特别困难的事。幸运的是，我还保留了一份给医学期刊撰稿的兼职工作，用来贴补我们的收入。 6 Some critics of our lifestyle think that I'm unique in enjoying my home life, but it's not the case. Overseas, millions of people work from home while still caring for the family. Women in Europe and Asia exert themselves to have a career and still love being housewives. It's becoming too common to substitute "househusbands" for "housewives" around the world as more women join the workforce. 一些批评我们这种生活方式的人们认为，我享受这种家庭生活只是个个例，但事实并非如此。海外数以百万计的人在家工作的同时，还照顾着家庭。欧洲和亚洲的妇女奋发向上，她们有事业，但仍然喜爱当家庭主妇。在世界各地，随着更多的妇女成为职业女性，“家庭主夫”替代“家庭主妇”这一现象变得极其普通。 7 Why is it so common to think that women are oppressed and discontented when working to provide for their families' happiness? Must everyone receive happiness in the same way, working long hours outside the home? I am revolted by the notion that I must be depressed or unfulfilled because my husband and I have chosen to live in a more old-fashioned setting. I don't suggest that this is the only way, or even the best way, to manage every family. However, I swear that it's the best lifestyle for me and my family. Every day, I work harder than I did at my old job and I find that I have more happiness and dignity than I did before. Consider this: In the future, when a woman answers that she is a housewife, you should avoid discrimination and give her a high five instead of showing pity or giving her a boring glance. 为什么这么多人认为，妇女在为她们的家庭幸福而工作时，一定是受到压制和感到不满的呢？每个人都必须以同样的方式——在外面工作很长时间——来获得幸福吗？有人认为我肯定很压抑或没有成就感，因为我丈夫和我选择了一种更过时的生活方式，这样的想法让我感到很震惊。我不是在暗示这是经营家庭的唯一的方法，我更不是说这是最好的方式。不过，我发誓，对我和我的家庭来说这是最好的生活方式。我日益努力，也发现自己比以前更幸福，更有尊严。记住，以后当一个女人回答她是一位家庭主妇时，你不应歧视她，要与她击掌喝彩，而不要显露怜悯之情或以让人厌烦的眼光看她。 |
