Normally, the reasoning process in deciding who “stays home” involves some function that includes societal norms and economic reality. In these liberal and enlightened days it is should be completely acceptable for either party to “stay home”, so that just leaves economic considerations as the deciding factor. In short, it makes rational sense for the person who earns more to continue going to work.

Now, if you happen to be the sort of person who doesn’t relish the idea of spending every waking hour entertaining someone with, quite literally, the IQ of a three-month-old then it makes perfect sense for you to maximize your economic contribution to the relationship.

Intangibles are nice and all, but economics rule the day.

S5

PS. An interesting side-effect of this economic reality is that, historically, men have tended to “marry down” and women to “marry up”. This created a self-justifying system wherein women were expected to stay home and raise the kids, and this was manifestly rational given the economics of it all. But recently the trend has been shifting: educated women have started “marrying down” as well — hence the not-so-uncommon-anymore phenomenon of the “stay at home husband”.

PPS. Great blog, btw.

[1] I’m leaving out any discussion of daycare here for the sake of simplicity.

I’m writing an article for Grand Magazine on new loft owners in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. I’ve been looking for someone who has purchased a Bauer Loft, and see that you have. I would like to interview you for my article. Are you interested? (deadline’s looming, so the sooner, the better.)

Thanks,

Tanya

=)