Wednesday, August 6, 2008 9:32 PM CDT
COLUMN: Here's what full-time moms have to do with the oil boom in N.D.
By PENNY WEAVER, Night News Editor
pweaver@jg-tc.com
I have a couple of great retorts ready when a telemarketer calls and tries to get me to sign up for something and potentially win money to boot.
In one call, the person wanted me to apply for a credit card and be entered to win $10,000. My first reply to these kinds of things usually is a polite, “No, thank you.” If they persist, I try to get creative instead of being rude.
Or, maybe it’s just a creative rudeness that I adopt. You decide.
“But you could win $10,000!” the person on the phone will repeat, seemingly incredulous that I could pass up an opportunity to win money.
“Oh, I don’t want to have that much money,” I’ll say, as if horrified at the thought. “How would I know who my friends are?”
For particularly insistent callers, I might add, “I’d never want that much money. I wouldn’t want to be spoiled.” I find that after these kinds of gentle retorts, telemarketers don’t seem to know what to say.
I thought of these things Wednesday morning as I read about the town of Stanley, N.D., where an oil boom is making practically everyone there rich beyond their imaginations. One rancher, a guy in his 70s, gets huge checks out of his mailbox each month because he owns mineral rights to land now belching out all kinds of oil.
Well, I’m glad it’s not me.
You think I’m kidding, don’t you? Well, while I like having money probably as much as the next person — at least enough to pay the bills and put food on the table and all that — I think it would be too much hassle to hit that kind of jackpot.
Money is a tool: It helps you get things done; but how much more good would a gold-plated pair of pliers do you than just a regular pair of Craftsmen? There really is such a thing as too much.
One guy in Stanley, N.D., now makes about $100,000 per year hauling water out to oil wells. Wow. That’s either really impressive or really scary. It’s kind of like comparing baseball players’ incomes of millions of dollars and teachers’ incomes of, well, not so much. Just what is each group contributing to society?
All this leads me to an increased admiration for stay-at-home moms.
I know, I know — that wasn’t much of a segue. Just be glad you don’t have to be inside my head when these thoughts pop up and collide. Someone could get hurt.
Yup. Reading about the North Dakota oil boom made me appreciate moms who stay home with their children.
At my class reunion recently, I was genuinely surprised when some of the women seemed to think they would be subject to derision or lack of respect because they are stay-at-home moms. One member of our class said that was part of the reason she didn’t attend the festivities.
Two out of three of my sisters are working moms; the other has been a stay-at-home mom exclusively until she recently got a part-time job now that her youngest is almost school age.
But I really was caught off guard by moms who seemed to think they should feel apologetic or embarrassed because they are “only” stay-at-home mothers.
I don’t have any kids, and I won’t have any; that’s just the way it’s worked out for me. But I love kids, and I can see how much “work” they are for all parents.
I admire stay-at-home moms so much! I also don’t know how working moms do it — juggling a full-time job with full-time parenting — but even as someone who is not a parent, I certainly don’t view stay-at-home moms as not having a job.
Gosh, their work is 24 hours a day, every single day, at least for 18 years. It starts when the kids get up — almost always early, from my experience as an aunt — and it doesn’t end just because the little ones head off to school. There is cooking to be done, laundry, cleaning, organizing and the general running of the household. Once the youngsters arrive back home, they need someone to assist with homework, prompt them at bath time, help choose clothes for the next day and 1,001 other things I probably wouldn’t even think of.
See, full-time moms don’t get a paycheck, directly. They help earn their spouse’s paycheck, but they don’t have a time clock. They don’t punch in — and they don’t punch out. How many of us would do our chosen vocation for no paycheck? Moms do it all the time — all moms (and dads; I don’t mean to leave you guys out), but especially stay-at-home moms.
So when someone asks, “What do you do?”, say it proudly, girls: “I’m a full-time mom.” You don’t pick up big checks monthly from oil wells on property you own. You don’t count the dollars in your checking account from the $10,000 you won after a telemarketer convinced you to enter a contest.
But you are the richest of all. You are investing not only in your progeny’s future but in the future of all of society. You are helping these little ones grow up to be honest, hard-working citizens of the world.
Sure, when my classmates ask, I could tell them that I design the front page of the paper five days a week. I could explain about stories that I edit, and columns that I write, and breaking news that I’ve helped bring to our readers over the years. I’ll continue to do that as part of a great team and enjoy it, I hope, for many years.
But I like to think I’d be just as proud, if I could, to explain that the hundreds of times I wiped noses and changed diapers, the many late nights I spent helping with school projects, the afternoons I worked hard on my child’s treats for the classroom the next day, all the ball games that I went to in all kinds of weather, and every little thing I did to help my children would fill an impressive resume.
I can’t think of a better job than parents raising their children. Money is just money; it’s necessary. A healthy, happy human being with wonderful childhood memories is more valuable than any material wealth.
Hey, moms, next time a telemarketer claims you can win $10,000 by signing up for something, just laugh. “I’m raising my kids!” you can say. “I already make millions!”
Add your comments
Not already registered?
Then click Here.
Comment policy:
JG-TC.com encourages readers to engage in civil conversation with their neighbors. Comments that are submitted are not posted to the site immediately. They go into a queue to be moderated and may take several hours to be reviewed. Comments posted on Saturday may not be reviewed until Sunday afternoon.
In order to keep the page a set width, long lines (mostly long links) will be chopped. Try putting spaces in your links or consider using tinyurl.com to make a smaller link that you can include.
We will never edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to remove comments that violate our code of conduct.
No comment may contain:
* Potentially libelous statements; such as accusing somebody of a crime, defamation of character, or statements that can harm somebody's reputation.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults, threats, harassment or inciting violence.
* Commercial product promotions.
If you have any questions, please contact our moderator.
|
|
|
mgb7273 wrote on Aug 8, 2008 11:32 PM: