The imaginary revolt of stay-at-home moms

In 1992, my wife was a lead pre-school teacher in Georgia. She made $9.75 an hour.

If the web is good for anything, it's good for one aggrieved person taking their screwed up situation, and imagining that it applies to millions. And thus another soon to be aborted movement is born.

Or not.

The case in point today. One person got off the career track, and now finds herself in the unenviable position of trying to get back on, post-divorce, 14 years later with two teenagers in the house. I'm sure that sucks, but it does not mean that no woman should ever again stay home with the kids. I can't help but wonder if that sort of "logic" has something to do with the fact that she is having a hard time finding a job. Of course, there is also the fact that she is a journalist. She could have been working 60 hours a week for the last 14 years and still be in a tough spot today. It's not exactly a growing industry she is in.

Obviously, there is a lot here we don't know. If she gave up 14 years of income to take care of the kids, and let her husband focus on his career, then divorced or not, he should be shouldering a much larger financial burden than she implies that he is. Maybe he is, and the lying awake at night worrying about money stuff is just artistic license for the story. I don't know. The story is written to imply that she and the kids are out there all alone, on the edge of financial ruin. That shouldn't be the case, and I hope that it isn't. If that is the case, the real story here isn't her struggle to find a job. It's how her ex is getting out of owning up to his responsibilities.

My wife is trying to go back to work now too. She has been out of the workforce about 16 years. She is finding it tough too. It's an unfortunate reality of life. That's why they call it sacrificing for your kids.