Roles we Play – Day by Day
There is no way to convince me that men and women are equal! I recently reflected on what most women accomplish in a day and measured against men. It’s a fact that women are inherently competent and capable of multi-tasking which theoretically gives us the edge on this issue. The question for us to consider, however, is “Are we happy performing so many roles or can we create more balance in our lives by delegating?” are we willing to “give up control”, and relinquish some of our responsibilities even if the tasks may not be done the way we would do them?
Every day a significant number of women work full time, manage a household, meet carpool commitments, do laundry, grocery shop, prepare meals, help with homework, fill the social calendar, keep up with correspondence, and struggle to find time for exercise, relationships, and personal fulfillment. It’s likely a man would find this day to day scheduling exhausting. Is any man up to the task? What can we do to engage their support or the help of any others in our family? How can we work together to change this continuous treadmill to equalize responsibilities and balance our lives?
The word that comes to mind is “awareness”. Often I find myself operating on automatic pilot. Because we carry out our tasks efficiently and simultaneously, it might not occur to us that someone else could do the job with equal or better results. For the people directly benefiting from our efforts, what reason would they have to interrupt the “status quo” if we are willing “to do it all”? Since the bulk of household management and responsibilities fall in our laps, perhaps it’s also our responsibility to enlighten and engage others to become more aware of imbalances when they exist.
It would be phenomenal if this one narrative could instantaneously change my situation or yours. Realistically, however, recognizing your situation will begin the process of implementing change. Nothings happens over night. Nothing will happen without taking time to assess where in your daily life you are out of balance. Why not transfer center stage to someone else to encourage them to play your roles when appropriate?
