I think there are many pro and cons when you are a homemaker in the housing area where most of the neighbors’ wives go out to work, leaving you with their bibik around.
First, the neighbors might have this impression that you are not educated enough, since you are not working.
Second, sometimes even the bibik around will think that you are a bibik as well since you don’t have time to put on make up and dress nicely like all other “ibu-ibu”…heh!
But the pro will be, you’ll get to know all the internal affairs about other bibik and their “ibu ” and “bapak” if you manage to strike a camaraderie with them..heh! Of course I’m still not sure how much I can trust their words since you know, people might lie and make up stories to save their ass..thus the reason why I don’t feel like hiring a bibik..although there are moments that I feel kan bagus kalau ada maid, boleh suruh buat kerja..
Seeing and hearing things make me feel grateful that I have what I have now. I don’t think I could survive another human being making me annoyed and frustrated, you know how I can’t stand slow people, apatah lagi to have them living under my roof…isk isk..huhu!
Well, you can’t really blame them if you realized the facts that these bibik are all less educated than you, coming from poor background with lack of facilities, never use any weird kitchen appliances, yet you expect them to come equipped with all kind of homemaking skills to run your home as perfectly as you thought you could do.
I think if I ever need outside help, I will rather take the part time basis, just to clean up here and there occasionally. I don’t think Hubby will like a maid cooking his dinner, or wash his boxers..haha! And help raising our son, definitely no-no!
i’ve followed your blog for awhile. im new parents as you. gave birth to my cute little son in january. im very career lady and currently leave my son with not one but two maids to look after him.
now, finally i can make the decision to have a work break to actually raise him. i admit..it is very difficult decision to make because i, as educated lady i feel really hard to leave what im enjoying right now…dress up everday, being around adults, be levelled with my other half. i may sound selfish. i think it is so much for power, position and things like that.
but looking at my son growing up learning an indonesian language at all is really breaking my heart. i hope i can be a very good stay-at-home-mom.
honestly, going out to work is much easier than being a stay-at-home mom especially when you are running the household on your own without any help 🙂
being a SAHM is not empowering enough if you compare to any career suitable to educated women like us..the fact of being a non-entity, “just a mom”, with no position or title to be proud of, will somehow affect our self esteem if one is not strong enough mentally and emotionally..
nevertheless I’m sure any mom in this world who managed to raise a prime minister on her own would be very proud to look back and say, hey, that man is my son!