For the Real Housewives

Lately, whenever I’ve been asked where I work I respond by saying “Fowler Inc.” with a straight face and enjoy the perplexed look I receive from the other person. There is no formal Fowler Inc. but for me there is (I have listed it as my place of employment on Facebook). I’m a housewife, and this job is just as serious as any other job. I run this family of two which we do wish to expand, therefore, in a few years there should be a minimum of four and maximum of six who am I kidding having four kids?!? I should make that three, is it too late???

Within a month of being married, my husband made it clear he had no desire to be following up on household stuff. I didn’t mind, it meant I wasn’t sitting twiddling my thumbs so as far as I knew, all was well. We’ll be married for 3 years in September and since October 2009, responsibilities have definitely increased.

Take our car for example. We’re a one car family – hey I don’t drive to work and he doesn’t need it during the day. Taking the car to get serviced etc is all up to me. Dealing with this is knowing what hour he needs to be at work, what hours I’ll be free to take it in and still be able to pick him up on time. I’m listed as the contact for everything. So car is finished – call Symone, we want to call and hassle you to buy your car – call Symone, there is a recall for a part on the car – call Symone, you get the idea?

Being the C.E.O. Of Fowler Inc. means I am the contact for everything and chances are, even when you need to speak to my husband about something I know more than he does on the issue (except anything to do with Comcast, that’s his department).

We started having a “family meeting” for me to know when my husband started work during the week to be helpful in choosing the best times to go the gym for personal training and syncing his work hours with any appointments I may have or he may have or need to be scheduled. This meeting time has now progressed to be the time where I decide what I will cook for the week so I also know how to shop at supermarket. Coordination just helps everything to run smoothly. I have a set day for laundry and cleaning is very spontaneous, but at least I know it happens during a certain period.

I’m always asked what do you do? Aren’t you bored? I run a family who is always on the go, I run a household with chores to be done as well as food to be made (we don’t like eating out a lot), I have to make sure everything on this ship runs smoothly and that 80% of the time there are no hiccups (I’m human I need a margin for error). I will never, and never have, mock the life of a real housewife. I’m not talking about the ones who have staff to run a household and say life is hard. I mean the ones who dig in and get dirty. Who schedule, coordinate, live on coffee to keep everything going smoothly so everyone is mostly happy. Every job is an opportunity for growth and humility. A chance to learn how to be more efficient and feel a great sense of pride in what you do. It doesn’t matter how others speak of your job when you know deep down that you have given it your best and feel some accomplishment for what you’ve achieved. Take pride and work your way up to bigger and better things.

#fastfoodthursdays on the menu 🙂

xx