Back to School, Back to a NEW Reality

During the last week, I graced my workplace for a few hours a day. I cleaned out the clutter left by the previous teacher and started to accomplish the tasks on my ritual "Beginning of the Year" To-Do list. It felt strange to leave my daughter behind in the care of my husband. Don't get me wrong. My husband is absolutely wonderful with our daughter. It just seemed different reversing roles after the last year.

Previously, we were fairly traditional in our division of labor. He went to work. I stayed home. He engaged himself in math and science. I immersed myself in domestic duties. He monitored the progress of hundreds of students. I invested time in one child. Now, our lives will be slightly unconventional. I will be the primary breadwinner. He will be the primary caregiver.

Our traditional routine was very comfortable and predictable, especially for me. Change and I are not necessarily the best of friends! I'd keep things at status quo if I had the power to manipulate all my circumstances. However, the status quo is not always the best for personal growth. Sometimes we need to be pushed out of our comfort zone to learn a few key lessons. Maybe our role reversals is one of these times.

When my husband and I planned our marriage ceremony, we intentionally wove the concept of egalitarianism through specific items in the program. For instance, both of us were escorted by our fathers down the central aisle at different times during the procession. In addition, the questions "who gives the woman..." and "who gives this man..." were asked. Furthermore, our vows contained the pledge, "I submit to you in reverence for Christ and receive you as my equal." The latter phrase, "...receive you as my equal..." has new meanings now.

The other day, my husband remarked, "I guess I'm a Homemaker now. 'House Husband' doesn't sound quite right." He is right. My husband will have the primary role in creating a balanced home environment for my daughter and me. I need to let go of my previous responsibilities and let my husband actualize them in his own unique way. I must focus on providing the funds for our family while assisting my husband whenever possible. I have to reconceptualize what it means to be a mother and a full-time teacher. Seems a bit strange. But this is our NEW reality, and the sooner I embrace it, the better.

I keep on telling myself that this is temporary. Hopefully our roles will return to our previous norm after a short season of change. But then again, only God knows. I need His peace in the interim.

Popular posts from this blog

Is God Good?

During "at home learning", I helped my daughter design an experiment on plants. She set up four identical pots with the same amount of soil in the same location on our deck (controlling her variables, right?). She planted two bean seeds in each pot. She watered three out of the four plants with various amounts of water (1/4 cup, 1/2 cup and 1 cup). The fourth plant only received whatever water naturally fell from the sky. At the end of one month, her hypothesis was partially verified. She thought the 1/4 cup water plant and 1/2 cup water plant would grow the best, which was true in the end. On the other hand, she guessed the others would not germinate at all. Interestingly enough, while the one that was drench in water (1 cup) did not germinate, the one she did not water at all actually grew! It germinated late but had the most steady growth. Is God good? I have been thinking about this question a lot these days. A global pandemic is still raging over our planet decimat...
Read more

Daunting {But Not Impossible}

I rarely watch the news. I catch up on the world's happenings -- where often the horror is reported -- via Google News. Or the brief blurb before classic rock on our favourite radio station. But very occasionally, at the end of the day, I take in the images of national and global headlines. Yesterday I watched the masses trek across Europe, searching for a safe haven away from war-torn Syria. I witnessed little kids crying as they tried to rub away tear gas sprayed by unrelenting border police. The message? You are not welcome in this country. I choked up as a father and his son fell to the ground after being tripped up by guards. The look of desperation on people's faces was heart breaking. Our country is nearing a Federal Election in October. Many voters are curious how the next Prime Minister will address the Syrian Refugee Crisis. Here is an excerpt from The Globe and Mail : Mr. Mulcair [NDP] and Mr. Trudeau [Liberal] condemn Mr. Harper [Conservative] for lacking...
Read more

Banking in the Now

This month we are trying something different: banking in the now instead of the tomorrow. Oh, it is nothing new, really. I used to operate like this in my single days. But then the lure of credit cards with reward programs persuaded me otherwise. While I never gave Visa the joy in collecting any interest payments from our bank accounts and I always payed our credit card bill before the 21 days of grace were up, I probably spent more than I should have some months. Why? Because I didn't have to pay for it immediately . It was not until last year that my credit card habits started to bother my conscience. Up to that point, I felt proud of the fact that the credit card company was paying me to use their plastic. I received stuff for free, even after paying my annual fee. Free fuel. Free flights. Free hotels. Free is good, right? My perspective started to change after I read a blog post penned by my sister. Her and her husband cut up their credit cards after a series of events, o...
Read more