I had to get a part-time job! A homemaker's work can be quite mundane, as rightly pointed out by my husband. "Don't you get tired of doing the same thing every day?" he asked. As I was in the process of explaining that I had no choice, the discussion moved to an altogether different subject and my case was lost. But then again, I wasn't fighting a case. This was war, and I was in it.
Every morning after the children and my dear husband left, I faced a war zone. The house looked like it had been hit by a tornado. Within an hour, however, it resembled a peaceful area on the border of a war zone. But then, that did not end my job for the day. Hundreds of other chores were still left to be done, but then again, this was a full-time job, right?
After a while, I realised that I could probably land with a well-paid job instead of being a full-time homemaker. I decided to speak about this to my family members. However, before I could even complete my speech about looking for a job, everyone threw a fit. Each was worried about the extra work they would have to do.
This made me more adamant, and I put my foot down and told everyone that my decision was final. That silenced them all.
After a restless night wondering how I would go about with my latest decision I woke up with a headache. However, I persevered with my hope to get a job and sent my résumé to companies for part-time work.
Shortly I got calls from various places. I went for the interviews but was unsuccessful because of the lack of experience. I had so much experience on the home front that I had not gained any in the outside world!
However, I suddenly realised that life was more peaceful. Each family member had been allotted some chores in anticipation of my job, and I was left with precious free time. After going through the appointments section of the newspaper, I was left with enough time to actually read the news in detail. I started commenting on various issues and when they got published, I realised this was something I could do very well. I started writing poems and articles and it gave me the satisfaction that no other job could give. One day I hope to write a novel. I guess it is a far cry, but then without aims and ambitions everything is impossible.
My hunt for the part-time job was shelved. Everyone in the family was happy with my decision. My poems and contributions were appreciated and finally I had carved my niche.
- The writer is a Gulf News reader
