This is a fascinating topic! My own mom hasn't been in the workforce for well over a decade (and even then was part-time). Reading this I realized that a ton of what she does with her time -- apart from doing things for non-family members -- is just this type of relationship work.
"And while dual income households may be a necessity for many of us, it doesn’t hurt to acknowledge that they introduce tradeoffs in terms of family cohesion and identity."
That quote made me think of how proximity to family members plays into this family cohesion and identity. For instance, our neighbors grew up here and have buckets of family members in town. They both work odd hours (police officer & special ed. worker) but they seem to be very close with parents, siblings, others (at least, I always see them over, coming and going, celebrating together...)
I wonder if that friction is made at least a little less by being able to connect more consistently in person. That doesn't negate the need for some sort of kinkeeper! But being hours or states away from both of our extended families makes it seem a Herculean task to keep up family cohesion and identity compared to the (seemingly) simpler version we see next door... even if I am not in the workforce.
Anyways, less a critique, more of a personal stream of thought. haha
This is a fascinating topic! My own mom hasn't been in the workforce for well over a decade (and even then was part-time). Reading this I realized that a ton of what she does with her time -- apart from doing things for non-family members -- is just this type of relationship work.
"And while dual income households may be a necessity for many of us, it doesn’t hurt to acknowledge that they introduce tradeoffs in terms of family cohesion and identity."
That quote made me think of how proximity to family members plays into this family cohesion and identity. For instance, our neighbors grew up here and have buckets of family members in town. They both work odd hours (police officer & special ed. worker) but they seem to be very close with parents, siblings, others (at least, I always see them over, coming and going, celebrating together...)
I wonder if that friction is made at least a little less by being able to connect more consistently in person. That doesn't negate the need for some sort of kinkeeper! But being hours or states away from both of our extended families makes it seem a Herculean task to keep up family cohesion and identity compared to the (seemingly) simpler version we see next door... even if I am not in the workforce.
Anyways, less a critique, more of a personal stream of thought. haha