Housewife vs Househusband

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Last night, the handsome husband & I had a brief conversation, attempting to map out the next six or seven months of our lives. . . There are WAY too many variables right now! LOL. In the midst of this conversation, he stopped & gave me this funky look & said, “It's too late for you to drop out of school, even if you wanted to! It would dash my hopes of retiring early!” Ha. Ha. Ha.

BUT, even mildly joking like this, there's still plenty of truth to it. . .  The reasons I went back to school aren't so far off from this, believe it or not!

Now, there are plenty of reasons to decide to pursue a college degree. Many will attend for personal enrichment, to advance their career, or even simply because it is expected. Each of these reasons has crossed my mind over the past several years (and I suppose they have each had some weight in regard to my decision). However, none of these are what tipped the scales so far in favor of college attendance that I could no longer put it off. So, what is it that finally got a thirty-something-year-old up off her rear-end to begin the journey towards earning that piece of paper? Frankly, it is because the handsome husband would do better as a househusband than I do as a housewife.

(Image from morgueFile.com)

My domestic abilities are mediocre, at best. I detest cleaning floors, will barely get the dishwasher loaded and unloaded each day, and can get the laundry done, but leave the clean clothes piled up instead of folding them. Dusting is virtually foreign to me, I have not washed a window in years, and, until recently, my idea of cooking dinner was combining a box of something with a can of something else and pronouncing it as done! To top it all off, in my free-time, I can easily let hours upon hours pass by while I get lost reading a book, surfing the Internet, or mindlessly watching television. As long as my surroundings are not completely filthy and unsanitary, I can stay off in my own little world. No problem!

The handsome husband, on the other hand, can accomplish household tasks in half the time that I can and the finished products are twice as nice as when I attempt the same tasks. To further prove my point, he cannot sit still for more than half-an-hour or so before he gets restless and feels compelled to find something productive to do. All of this combined ensures that my husband would get more done with a higher sense of urgency and that the final product would be of a higher quality when compared to my output.

With this said, when the prospect of moving to a new state for the handsom husband’s job was presented to us, we had a lot to consider. The deciding factor was narrowed down to the fact that his chosen career path earned more of an income than mine, even though neither of us were college-educated. So, when the time came, I left my job, became a housewife, and we moved to follow the handsome husband’s career. Just a few months in, I realized how utterly bored and unsatisfied I was. For that reason, after researching the job market, and realizing that my earning power was drastically reduced in my new state, I started considering the possibility of going back to school. The fact that the handsome husband is so much better at the domestic tasks I am responsible for really sealed the deal in making that decision.

Now, enrolled in and nearing the end of my first semester at college, I already have visions of receiving my associate’s degree, (followed in two years by my bachelor’s degree) and going on to begin a career in finance. My earning power will exceed that of the handsome husband and he can stay home, taking care of the house (and, hopefully, our future child). Then, when I come home at the end of a long, but fulfilling day, the house will be sparkling clean in comparison to when the roles were reversed. Yep. . . The handsome husband will definitely do better as a househusband than I do as a housewife. 😉 Ha. Ha. Ha.