Thursday, October 23, 2003 |
What is a House Husband?
I asked myself the above question this morning as I hung out the first load of washing before putting another load of dirty nappies into the machine.
To an outsider a House Husband might look pretty much the same as a House Wife minus the dress; analogous to the way Rugby League would look exactly the same as Rugby Union to a Victorian.
There is however subtle differences between the two that would otherwise go unnoticed until you look a little closer.
For example my day today will contain a lot of washing clothes, cleaning floors, changing nappies, making lunches, reading stories, enjoying two hours of blessed silence while the boys have their afternoon sleep, some light gardening, some baking and maybe if I have time some reading. Sounds pretty similar of the stereotypical view of a House Wife doesn't it?
The differences rise to the surface when you venture out in public. A trip to the shops will see me being the only guy in the whole place under 70. Whilst sometimes I will bring a stroller along if I plan to be there for any length of time, I will never fit in or be allowed inside the impregnable fortress of strollers and prams erected around the various cafes and coffee shops by the young mums out to socialise with each other.
Down the park with the boys is another place I will not fit in. Once again the only guy in a sea of women and strollers. The difference here is that if I am not fairly close to my kids most of the time, a few concerned glances may come my way.
"Who is that guy sitting on the seat over there just watching all the kids??!!"
The huge upside to all of this however is the fact that I get to watch my two young boys grow up instead of sitting at my desk at work 5 days a week.
Being in the office just 2 days a week also sounds great to all the other guys I describe my situation to, especially as I usually go light on explaining all the other things I do when I am at home.
There are however no free lunches.
I asked myself the above question this morning as I hung out the first load of washing before putting another load of dirty nappies into the machine.
To an outsider a House Husband might look pretty much the same as a House Wife minus the dress; analogous to the way Rugby League would look exactly the same as Rugby Union to a Victorian.
There is however subtle differences between the two that would otherwise go unnoticed until you look a little closer.
For example my day today will contain a lot of washing clothes, cleaning floors, changing nappies, making lunches, reading stories, enjoying two hours of blessed silence while the boys have their afternoon sleep, some light gardening, some baking and maybe if I have time some reading. Sounds pretty similar of the stereotypical view of a House Wife doesn't it?
The differences rise to the surface when you venture out in public. A trip to the shops will see me being the only guy in the whole place under 70. Whilst sometimes I will bring a stroller along if I plan to be there for any length of time, I will never fit in or be allowed inside the impregnable fortress of strollers and prams erected around the various cafes and coffee shops by the young mums out to socialise with each other.
Down the park with the boys is another place I will not fit in. Once again the only guy in a sea of women and strollers. The difference here is that if I am not fairly close to my kids most of the time, a few concerned glances may come my way.
"Who is that guy sitting on the seat over there just watching all the kids??!!"
The huge upside to all of this however is the fact that I get to watch my two young boys grow up instead of sitting at my desk at work 5 days a week.
Being in the office just 2 days a week also sounds great to all the other guys I describe my situation to, especially as I usually go light on explaining all the other things I do when I am at home.
There are however no free lunches.
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