Success and the Changing Household

There is a saying that 'behind every successful man is a women'.

I never really knew what that meant until I entered the working world. I realized that, over the years, many men have been successful because they have been enabled by a woman. Their wives stayed at home - bought the groceries, picked the kids up from school, made the meals, took the dog for a walk, made dentist and doctors appointments, answered the phone ... the list goes on and on. Looking at the 'housewives' that I know it is obvious that these women worked just as hard or harder than their husbands; they had just as much to do with their husband's success as he did. After all, could their husband get up early, work late, have a family and still have leisure time had it not been for their wife peddling like crazy in the background?

All this got me thinking ... I don't know any housewives in my age bracket. In fact, I don't know any housewives within 20 years of my own age. This is because every female I know works. Women have made tremendous strides in the working world. While I am not an expert, I think women's participation in the working world is due to the following: things are so expensive (kids are costly, housing prices are crazy, and household debt is astounding), women are empowered (women can have great careers and many women I know enjoy working), women are educated (many women have a college or university degree). I am sure that I speak for most women that we could really use a 'househusband'!

Speaking for myself now, I could really use a 'househusband' to throw the laundry in, make a meal or two, clean the bathroom and take out the trash. I could use a husband to take the car to the dealership, make my dentist appointment, pick up the dry cleaning and the list goes on! Luckily I have a great husband who works from home. This means that after five long days of meetings with clients and then a five hour flight I can come home to a decently clean house, food in the fridge and a hot meal. Lucky me! My husband and I have a very amicable relationship - he makes dinner but I do the dishes, he drops me off at the airport but I fold the laundry, he takes the garbage out but I put it in the bin. Without this kind of relationship, I would not be able to start my work day early, take a phone call at 6 PM, travel 5 days a week or make my swimming class on Friday nights.

I know that not every woman is as lucky as I am. In fact when I was single and working 60 hours a week, by the time I bought groceries, cleaned the house and paid the bills I was too exhausted to do anything else. You can imagine what happened next - burn out. As my husband actively looks for a job outside the house, I can't help but reflect on how his getting a corporate job will affect my own success. How will we manage the household with two people working full time? I know that this can be done as I know people who are doing it. I also know single women with no husband who are doing fine on their own or families with kids who are making it work. All of this is to say that times are changing and that behind every successful woman ... is likely a unique scenario. You just have to do what you can.