Is It Wrong To Stay Home?

Here is a video by a young (21 years old) married woman who explains her choice to be a housewife. She says, among other things, that she doesn't mind being home a lot since before her marriage, she used to work as a baby- and dog-sitter and thus used to spend most of her time in the houses of other people, so that now she finally can enjoy staying in her own house.

One line of attacks against a full time homemaker is usually the idea that she is "locked inside the house" and "doesn't participate in society" which makes her life unbelievably boring, apparently. Of course, as with many other things, it's more a caricature than a realistic depiction of the life of a modern housewife. Part of her job, for instance, is doing shopping for her family. If she has children, she'll have to bring them to school. She'll probably spend at least some time a week visiting her family and friends. Then there is church and church activities, doctor's and dentist's appointments etc etc. The way our modern society functions, sheer necessity will force anyone to participate in it.

Yet is it really so bad to desire to spend the majority of your time at home? Why there are so many women around who would do anything to avoid it? Not only those working outside home, mind you. There are quite a number of "housewives" who you can phone at any hour of the day and they will be never home, except at dinner time. Well, you could just as well go out and get a job, in my opinion. Many working women prefer to spend their weekends going out with girlfriends (i.e. getting drunk in a bar) and spending their evenings in various out-of-home pursuits, because obviously, spending 20+ hours away from home on a weekly basis is clearly not enough.

At this point someone will ask me if it's not everybody's right to live like they see fit. Well, of course it is, though if you are any sort of a Christian, I dimly recall there is something in the Bible about women whose feet abide not in their houses and who are without and in the streets all the time, and it's not positive. However, most people are either not Christians or Christians in name only, so I agree it's their own business how they live. But...but, doesn't it work both ways?

I mean if it's all about choices, how about a woman who chooses to stay home because she likes it? Why is it that one has practically to apologise for it, like the girl in the video? Isn't it a personal decision? It hardly matters whether you are 21 or 51 as long as you enjoy it, does it now?

There is something incredibly reassuring about knowing this one lady in your street who is always home, whenever you call. It creates a warm and comfy feeling because you realise there is someone who likes to bond with her home and would rather stay there than spend her days running around like if her life depended on it.

Now please don't misunderstand me, it's fun and healthy to go out for a walk, take your kids to the park, visit a gym or a swimming pool, train your dog etc but hanging the whole day somewhere in a shopping mall like a juvenile delinquent? Staying home can be fun, too!