James Baquet

Today’s proverb is actually the second half of a rhymed couplet:

Man may work from sun to sun,

But woman’s work is never done.

It means that men work from “sun (up) to sun (down),” but women work all hours of the day.

Also, housework is cyclical. Wash clothes, sweep the floor, or cook a meal, and you’ll have to do it all over again. But the world of business can generally be discussed in terms of “milestones,” significant moments in a career.

Let’s see it in a dialogue.

James sees his student, a girl named Sherry, coming out of the student store, carrying cleaning supplies.

James: Hey, Sherry. Getting ready for a little spring cleaning?

Sherry: Yeah, “a woman’s work is never done.”

James: That’s a little sexist, don’t you think?

Sherry: Maybe. But cleaning the home is traditionally women’s work, isn’t it? While men went out to be the breadwinners?

James: I guess. But I’ve had PC language drilled into me for so long, the “-isms” just make me uncomfortable.

Sherry: I hear ya. Still, the facts are undeniable: More women do the cooking, cleaning, laundry, childcare, and so on, than men, don’t you agree?

    James: I guess so. Maybe there’s a biological imperative to nest, since only women can bear children.

    Sherry: Let’s not go overboard. Just because women bear children, that doesn’t let men off the hook for their share of chores.

    James: I agree! You’re preaching to the choir. I’m just thinking out loud here. Do women naturally have the urge to be homemakers?

    Sherry: “Homemaker?” Try “domestic engineer.”

    James: Now THAT sounds PC!

    Notes on the dialogue:

    — Spring cleaning: The custom of cleaning out a home that’s been closed up all winter.

    — Sexist: Discriminatory against (usually) women (sometimes men).

    — A breadwinner: One who earns the main income in a household.

    — PC language: “Politically correct” language, which doesn’t discriminate against any particular social group.

    — The “-isms”: Sexism, racism, ageism, and other forms of discrimination.

    — A biological imperative: Behavior that is dictated by “nature” (biology).

    — To nest: To create a home, as when birds build a nest.

    — To go overboard: To do something more than is necessary, to go “too far.”

    — To let someone off the hook: To allow someone to shirk his or her responsibilities.

    — To preach to the choir: To try to convince someone who is already convinced.

    — To think out loud: To consider ideas through conversation.

    — A homemaker: One who keeps the home (usually the woman of the house).

    — Domestic engineer: A joking reference to a “housewife.”