Stay at home mom

A stay at home mom decided to change things around with her family as she felt that she was being taken for granted and her contributions were not being valued. She announced to her consultant husband (with whom she was colleagues with previously) that from henceforth, every hour of work she did at home which was outside the usual norms would be worth $25.

She handed over a list of activities which would fall under regular scope which included amongst other things basic maintenance and upkeep of the house, school pick up and drop, feeding and bathing the kids, overseeing homework, taking the kids out to play, shopping for groceries, preparing breakfast, packed lunch and dinner, hospital visits, getting the clothes fresh and ironed etc.

By the end of the the first month, she produced an invoice of USD 3000 listing out the additional scope of work- coordinating with municipality to mend the trees adjoining the house, coordinating with plumber to fix the toilet block, drive down to parent's house to deliver a package, art and craft work for school annual day, deep vacuum of the beds for bugs, seasons greeting cards for near and dear, repairing of broken kitchen cabinets etc. were some of the major items. By the end of one quarter, she raked up a bill of USD 10,000.

The husband was amused when he saw the bill. But his smile disappeared when he was asked to pay up. Nothing would move until all outstandings were cleared. And then the inevitable happened - he got the flu. The all knowing corporate honcho became a weak helpless boy, and he was broke before he knew it.

At the beginning of this new year, take a moment to acknowledge the invaluable contribution of colleagues who do much more than their prescribed job description- they make sure that nothing falls between chairs and keep the show going. Don't take this for granted.

Wish you a successful and exciting 2018 !

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