The article Stay-at-home-mom (Open Page Jan 31) contains valuable thoughts.
I strongly feel that we should not forget that the lady of the house has multi-functional roles, mainly as a “home-maker” and as a “mom” to the kids. A right balance has to be struck by her to fulfil all these aspects so that life becomes worth living.
I feel it is apt to quote the verse of Elizabeth Ralph Mertz which she wrote long ago with a vision.
‘Accomplishments’
When Aristotle wrote his books,/When Milton searched for rhyme,/Did they have toddlers at the knee/Requesting dinner time?
When Dante contemplated ‘hell’/Or Shakespeare penned a sonnet,/Did Junior interrupt to say/His cake had ketchup on it?
When Socrates was teaching youth/And Plato wrote the Phaedo,/Were they the ones to clean the mess/The Children made with Play-doh?
If Edmund Burke had had to work/On all his kids’ ablutions,/Would he have the time and strength/To speak on revolutions?
Did food get bought when Darwin/Sought the origin of species?/Or, did he have to hush the tots,/And tell them not to tease, please?
When Judges Holmes and Brandies donned their robes/And gave their wise opinions,/Was laundry piled a metre high/With socks mixed up with linens?
How much greater, then, the task/Of those who manage both,/Who juggle scholarship with child/Development and growth,/And how much greater is the praise/For those who persevere/ And finish their advanced degrees/And take up a career!”
Hats off to those women who manage successfully!
