Staying at home in US vs. India

Staying at home as a housewife in India is very different from in US. I have experienced both the phases. In India, when kids have gone to school and dh to office, relatives/friends start nagging you with words like staying at home is so boring, wasting time etc and make our life more miserable. I have been a victim of such circumstances and as a result could not focus neither on my family life nor career. Also after 30-35 yrs, women (not everyone, no generalising here) do not get into any active lifestyle and have daily activities like watching tv serials,general grocery shopping etc. Many of them I know do not focus on dressing or grooming. They opine that who will look at them:bonk(I dont get the logic). Also some spend the whole day in their nighties adding to the depression. Seeing such women around us also makes us feel a bit depressed and any thoughts I used to discuss like going for movie a month or potluck would be dismissed by them.

...but in US, Im really enjoying the status of staying at home. Here many women come on H4, have seen their sad days and now in matured state of mind. I have got tips/ideas from many women about spending time constructively. Some examples are painting,playing tennis, learning piano,dance and what not. Age no bar. It makes me feel good to see such inspiring women around me and gives me hope. Women respect other stay at home moms. If not respect, they do not even look down on them.

When I call some relatives in India and mention about volunteering here (no pay , right) they dismiss it immediately saying its waste of time or sympathise with me for doing 'atleast' volunteering because Im unable to work. They also sympathise so much :hide: about not having a maid and me having to do all the work. I would have definitely felt bad if I was the lonely soul in this country doing this, but it is not so. Then they say 'our India' is better in terms of domestic help,free chit-chat with neighbors etc:rant

Im totally having a good time as a stay at home mom. The term 'housewife' restricts a wife/woman to house and in itself is very narrow and did not give much hope to me....but the term 'homemaker' could be any person...either a man or woman :thumbsup and is so positive which means a person who stays at home really 'makes' it a home to live in.

So after many years of grudge of not working due to H4, now I do not crib when dh mentions my status as 'homemaker' in some forms/applications.

 

Ragini, Im looking for a part time job. Hope to land there...but in the meanwhile I just wanted to jot down my feelings as there are many women out there who do not enjoy the 'homemaker' status and rush to wrong decisions. I hope my post will make people realise to even love this status and feel happy about it.

Talking about financial independence, I know all the abcs of it but could not get a job due to visa issues in this country. Now after a career gap it becomes difficult (not impossible though) to find a job.

Anyways, thanks for dropping in.