I agree to some extent. My mother stayed home for 3 years then went to work. My father didn't want her to work. But she did AND raised three kids. (with him of course) Cooked, cleaned, did laundry, sewed, shopped, saved the world, all before dinner time. And all of us turned out into model citizens of the world. : )

I honestly don't know how she did it. Being a mother IS a full-time job. I doubt a new mom is sitting on her ass all day. A baby is hard work and raising kids is among the greatest things an individual can do. You can't tell a mother, raising her kid is somehow less noble than acquiring a senior position at a firm. It's all subjective. If I have children I would want the luxury of being able to stay home with them during their formative years. There's nothing wrong with that. Your degree doesn't lose its value. After the kids are grown and gone, you can still use it. It's an individual choice what one wants to do at any instance of their life. Things can change. If you like it, I love it. I make my choices and you make yours but you can't jump to conclusions on how others spend their time until you are in that situation yourself.

@Sheila: I think you provide a good in between. I do thing you can and should let your "interested other" know what is good and bad and what you like, not so he can fake it to trick you … but so he can listen to you and work on things as a sign of his love.

@Mikki: There is hope out there. Don't think of it as molding … think of it as talking and compromising … because women could benefit from the same "molding" … we just don't say sh*t.

@Anti: You fought long and hard in my absence, and you were on fire. Specifically "A woman beings honest about what she wants = an opportunity for man to be deceitful?" made my day.

@Comeback: I'm sorry, but this is getting crazy. I've never got burned out on a relationship topic before, but I guess there is a first for everything. I think you need to stop setting up so many rules, be a little more compromising, and realize that your suppose to give too … otherwise its all just one sided. I haven't heard you talk about one thing you are responsible for to make things work. Even when it comes to "telling your man your likes" … thats doing too much. *sigh* … good luck with all that.