The Reason I, a Full-Time Housewife, Decided to Work Outside the Home

As the title suggests, unexpectedly, this month marks the end of my life as a full-time housewife, a role I have held for over 10 years.

The reason I chose the path of a full-time housewife

I am not good at handling two or more things at once efficiently.

I worked in an office until my daughter was born, but I never knew where to cut corners while balancing housework and a job, and I always felt like I was failing at something, which made me think, 'I'm not cut out to be a housewife.'

After childbirth, childcare was added to that.
I could foresee that balancing work would lead to burnout, causing me to become irritable and place a burden on my family. Thankfully, my husband left the choice of whether to work outside the home up to me, so I chose to be a full-time housewife to support my family, and I structured my daily schedule myself.

Thanks to that, I had the opportunity to be actively involved in supporting my child's kindergarten and club activities, which was a very happy experience.

A new stage has arrived

A turning point in my life arrived this month.

It has been a few months since my daughter started junior high school.
She seems to be getting used to her new life little by little.

The opportunities for me to provide rides and support for club activities have decreased drastically,
and I have more free time.

Living in the countryside, my life tends to become monotonous.

On days when I have no plans to go out,
I would stay home all day doing chores,
or writing articles,
and I started to feel
that the balance was a bit off.

I had thought about whether I should go out to work before,
but rather than wanting to do it myself,
it was more about being conscious of other people's eyes,
thinking, 'Everyone else is doing it.'

But this time, I thought carefully about
what I really want to do.

I want to live a life where I interact with people in a real community
and incorporate time to work and move my body outside.
I thought that by having new experiences,
I might be able to write better articles within my limited time.
I started looking at job advertisements, but it is not easy to find a job with the conditions I want.

Just then, I heard that a nearby public facility was looking for part-time workers.
I am interested in both the location and the work content.
I had even thought before that it would be nice to work there.
And above all, the fact that it is close to home is very much appreciated.

Since it is a shift system, I was worried that my family's time off would be inconsistent,
but I got my family's approval, and I can request time off in advance.
I think I can manage to handle sudden illnesses of my child.

Once I've thought it through, I'll just go with the flow.

It's a short-term part-time job, but since I haven't worked outside for a salary in over 10 years, I am honestly scared to enter society.
In addition, perhaps due to menopause, I have severe headaches on some days and get tired easily, so I wonder if I can keep up physically.

I thought about this and that, but thinking doesn't provide an answer.
At times like that, I write down my anxieties in a notebook and consult with myself.
Yeah. It seems solvable.
The rest is something I won't know until I actually try.

If I don't have time, I might manage somehow by making do with what I have.

I reached the conclusion that the benefits of riding the wave and taking a step forward are greater than the anxieties.

People might say it's a luxury problem to be able to choose whether to work or not,
but the foundation of my life is protecting the physical and mental health of my family and myself.
I want to secure time to enjoy my creative hobbies while also taking time to contribute to society by belonging to a community.

And if that passion can be useful to someone else, it will be an even greater joy in life.

I want to work a little bit within a reasonable range, and in my spare time, I want to take care of the house and enjoy the things I love to the fullest.
I want to continue to nurture note as a place where I can express my true self, keeping it going for a long time in a small way.


The balance of life and living that I have chosen for myself now.

Right now, I'm still imagining a world unknown to me, and I'm a bit tense, but I'm going to let go of that lightly and enjoy the adventure of my life while trying out this and that.

Thank you for reading until the end today as well.