Hmm. . .

I was reading some of the headlines today on AOL and came across this article. . .  It made me think a little because it partially describes me in many areas, but since I have become a stay at home mom, I am having a pull towards changing these. . . Take a look:

Flickr, toniwbusch

While today's women are advancing in the workplace and making more money, a new study found that few of them know how to do the same domestic chores their mothers and grandmothers did every day.

Researchers found that only 51 percent of women under 30 knew how to cook a roast while 82 percent of baby boomer females thought it was a cinch. "Women of today tend to be busier, juggling more roles, and are quite prepared to compromise a bit of the homemade just to save some time," social researcher Mark McCrindle told Australia's Courier-Mail.

McCrindle also noted that because these women have bigger paychecks, they don't feel the need to have to bake a cake from scratch or iron their own clothing when instant mixes and dry cleaners are readily available.

"We live in a throw-away culture where, rather than repair something, we will buy a new one, even if it is just a matter of darning holes or sewing on buttons," he said. "As such, many women have lost these skills. If we do want something repaired, women today are more likely to take it to their local drycleaner because they are busy and can afford it."

While older generations may find it disheartening to know that their daughters and granddaughters are without these "lady skills," there are some jobs that research has found women today do more readily than in the past. Over 70 percent of women under 30 admit to taking out the trash, mowing the lawn and washing their own cars.

Which leads us to ask: Why is sewing a button back on still a "lady skill" if we've taken over in all of these departments?

While I am not against moms who work (goodness my mother worked all while doing an excellent job of raising me and keeping her house), it is something to think about.  Right now I don't have a paycheck that contributes to the household, which means there are certain things I am having to learn to do better, cooking being the main one.  I think that the older generation that knew how to do the things such as make a roast or mend a shirt had the gift of one thing that many women don't have today, a gift I have been somewhat granted with by staying at home. . . Time.  


The women had more time to learn how to do those things, so they could be helpful and do them out of necessity since they didn't have the extra funds.  I just found it kind of funny, because honestly never did I see myself on the "domestic" side of the spectrum.  Believe me I am not very domesticated at all, and I am finding it is a learned thing. . . something that has taken some time to get used to, but slowly I am beginning to see the beauty in it, and the gifts it has. . . 


So maybe I have to become one of those women who doesn't have the money to run out and buy a new shirt whenever a perfectly good one loses a button, or get a store bought cake for every birthday, but you know, that is starting to become okay with me.  Strange as it is. . .