families are for weekends

Whatever happened to weekends?

I grew up thinking the work week was Monday through Friday and ordinary people worked 9 to 5. Dolly Parton said so herself. Come to think of it though, she didn't speak of it in glowing terms-- 'what a way to make a living.' I think she was sort of down on the whole thing.

Well, I would love to only work 9 to 5. And to not have to worry about cleaning. But, with four kids, that's not going to happen anytime soon.

I'm working about 50-55 hours a week between my two jobs, and my wife works full-time too. Still, we barely make it.

I wonder how many other people in America are like us.

Wasn't there a time-- probably in the idealized 50s-- when the man could work and the woman could stay at home with the kids?

I say that with all respect for woman, by the way. I don't believe woman should be kept in the home barefoot and pregnant. Woman should be able to anything men can do-- take the world on and pursue their dreams.

But, I'd love to be able to concentrate on work and come home to a cooked meal and a clean home. And I'm sure my wife wouldn't mind it if I made enough money that she could stay home. (Yes, we've had this conversation before.) In a perfect world, she would like to work part-time.

It's hard to see how young 20-somethings, or those even younger like my kids, are going to make it the world. Sure there will be those who start their own businesses or are wildly ambitious, or lucky, but what about the average Joe's? Those that would be work horses in factories or have milk routes? Do you see where I'm going?

Even scarier perhaps, what about the average Janes? Wanting to be smart and self-sufficient, woman have taken colleges over it seems. Here's a sample of what I'm talking about:

Gender Ratios at Sample Universities (2007)
School % Male % Female
Columbia University 47.9 50.3
University of Wisconsin, Madison 47.3 52.7
University of Texas, Austin 49.5 50.5
Purdue University 58.9 41.1
Rice University 43 57
University of Virginia 47 53
Florida Atlantic University 40 60
Kent State University 39 61
University of California, Davis 45 55

Source: Institutional Data, from www.educational-portal.com

Do you think there might be a lot of pressure on young woman to grow up to be both respected business leaders who can fend for themselves in the corporate world and nurturing mothers? How many woman are struggling right now to be both and are unsatisfied? And how many kids are growing up in childcare, being nurtured by people making small wages with no natural connection to the children their watching? It should be said that there are surely tons and tons of caring and warm childcare workers in the world. My point is that family dynamics are changing. And many of the changes are troubling.

As for me, I'd just like a day off. A day to rest in my recliner and read my Saturday Evening Post and smell the smells wafting in from the kitchen. I wonder how my wife feels about that.