[speaker001:] Okay, what do you think about it?
[speaker002:] Well, uh, the roles have definitely changed
[speaker001:] Oh, yeah.
[speaker002:] in the last generation or so. Um, I think a lot of it has to do with women working.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh, yeah, I do too. I think it's going to, in, like in the future, I think all women are going to work.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] I mean, they may let you off for a day or two to have your baby, but that will be it,
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] or either they'll have a computer at home and in the hospital where you can just, you know, just continue right on with your work.
[speaker002:] Ye-, [LAUGHTER] yeah.
[speaker001:] I mean, i-, it really is coming to that because most women now days cannot afford the time that they could take off unless the company pays them.
[speaker002:] Right, right.
[speaker001:] They can't even afford to take off, you know, to have children it seems like.
[speaker002:] And it, and it seems, if you're going to have kids, uh, that you are, you know, society has decided for you how many you can really have and make it.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] And, uh, because if you have, you know, two, well, if you go to work, you're, just working to pay for day care,
[speaker001:] Right.
[speaker002:] two or three, you know, um.
[speaker001:] Now, I was real lucky because my husband had a good enough job where when my kids were, you know, when I had them and when they were small,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] until they got in junior high school, my youngest got in junior high, I didn't have to work.
[speaker002:] Oh, that is good.
[speaker001:] I mean I didn't work, I, I needed to but I didn't.
[speaker002:] Yeah, Steve's, Steve has a sister who has four. She just had her fourth one in, uh, March and she doesn't have to work either. I don't know how they do it. I don-, I don't know how people do it with one, you know, um obviousl-,
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER] Let me tell you, you go without a lot of things that you wo-, you know.
[speaker002:] yeah, obviously we don't have any and, and I don't, I think that's part of the role reversal, is it's okay to get married and not have kids.
[speaker001:] Oh yeah.
[speaker002:] And I think for society for such a long time said, well, you know, you're married, now you need to sa-, have, have your family and I don't think it's been until recently that, that they had decided that two people was a family.
[speaker001:] Right, right.
[speaker002:] You know and,
[speaker001:] Well it's getting where you can't hardly afford, if you're going to give your kids any kind of education and stuff you can't hardly afford to have over two.
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] And I mean it's hard with two, now, we, uh, my youngest one, I have two, I have a son and a daughter, and my youngest one is going to be graduating from college soon,
[speaker002:] Oh!
[speaker001:] and if I had a third one,
[speaker002:] Yea-,
[speaker001:] I just don't know where it would come from.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] Because I work now, I work full time and, uh, you know, it, when you put them through college it just takes just about everything you got.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] They get loans and grants and scholarships and stuff like that, that helps out, but still, it cost a lot.
[speaker002:] Oh, yeah, I mean, just the, you know, the cost of living and loans don't pay for groceries and stuff.
[speaker001:] Right, and cars and all their books, and the books are outrageous.
[speaker002:] Oh, I know, I know.
[speaker001:] I mean, absolutely outrageous, and they're getting worse. Uh, my daughter brought home a book the other day that she was going to have to have for her, one of her next classes and it was like ninety-six dollars.
[speaker002:] Gee [whispered].
[speaker001:] And this book is a little bitty skinny book.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] I said my goodness, what is it, lined in gold, you know, uh.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] But it is, it's getting worse, and, if I'd of probably had three or four children, I don't see how we could have made it, you know, without me working.
[speaker002:] But that's, that's probably because, you know, if you had three, you, you know, would say, if I'd of had four. I guess it's always not, not being able to picture one more, but in essence you probably would have worked out fine.
[speaker001:] Right, but I think I would have had to work.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] If I'd of had that many, I'd of had to work in order for my kids to, you know, even though he brings in a real good living and everything, in order for me to keep up, I would have had to work.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] But I think it's getting more and more like,
[speaker002:] [Dishes].
[speaker001:] when you have one child now, that's it, you know, then you go to work and you work,
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] because if you have two or three kids, by the, e-, way the inflation's going I think a woman's always going to have to work and it's just going to be an accepted thing. There isn't going to be any of this, you know, very few people will ever stay home.
[speaker002:] Yeah, and, and that's all right with me, because I don't want to stay home
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] you know, I think I'm just part of tha-, the new stuff, that is just, I don't know, I think I would just go nuts sitting at home all day long.
[speaker001:] Well you know, I can't imagine how I did, because now I work all the time,
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] and, um, well I work all week, and, um, I can't imagine how I stayed home.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] You know, I think to myself, what did I do. And I think it just, it revolutionized an, where a woman thinks that a way, you know, just like, now my daughter, there's no way that she can imagine herself married at the age that she's at now [scratching]. To her everything is, you've got to go through college, you've got to get a job, you know. And then when everything's set up, then you look for somebody that you want to spend the rest of your life with, but.
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] I mean it is so far down the road, where, now when I graduated high school,
[speaker002:] That's, you did, that's what you did.
[speaker001:] the thing, uh-huh, and then you got married and then you had a family.
[speaker002:] Uh.
[speaker001:] I mean that's just the way it was, you know.
[speaker002:] Yeah [NOISE].
[speaker001:] And, uh, that's like when my mo-, I know when my mother's age it was always the kids and the family and [scratching] everything had to come first and the woman stayed home and took care of them, an.
[speaker002:] I, uh, I, I like the way it is.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] It's, uh, being, see, we're from Houston and so it's not so hard for people, you know, you've been married three or so years and you don't have kids, well it's okay, no-, nobody does. But you come to a place like Belton, and th-, a lot of the kids here get married out of high school.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] It's real small town, and i-, and a lot of people in our su-, we're the only couple in our Sunday School class, except for one other couple, who are in their forties, and they can't have children, who don't have children. And they can't imagine why we would want to have children. * I think the word might be "wouldn't", otherwise it doesn't make sense. And, I'm going well, you know, there's more to life, you know, there's life in there that's,
[speaker001:] [Scratching].
[speaker002:] you know, not everybody has to have kids, and, I'd rather spend the time with my husband than, you know, spending time, here, it's your turn, you know.
[speaker001:] Yeah, but, you know, that, now even whenever I was coming up and everything and we got married right out of high school, well a year after I got out of high school [scratching],
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and, uh, I didn't have kids for four and a half years but that was because I wanted to work and I wasn't ready for kids.
[speaker002:] Yeah, I think that's what it is, I'm not either.
[speaker001:] And, everybody thought, oh, my gosh, what is the matter with her, you know.
[speaker002:] They're probably going, oh, I bet she can't get pregnant [using a false voice].
[speaker001:] Right, I mean they thought that it was terrible, you know, and then when I'd tell them, you know, well I'm just not ready for children yet, oh, but that, you know, you better, you better just get ready now.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] Well you don't just get ready. But I was kind of odd because as a general rule the people that married during my time, they had kids within a year.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] And I just was not ready for kids. I wanted to get out and work a little bit and I wanted to travel and stuff like that, which we did. And, uh, kids didn't fit in right then, but, it's getting more and more like that where there's more and more couples and, really, if you don't want the kids, then it's not the time to have, I don't care what anybody tells you.
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] And I think that more and more the attitude's getting that a way. Because that's like my daughter now, she says that, you know, maybe when she's thirty she might want a child then.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] And, uh, even though I'd like to have grandchildren, I can see her point.
[speaker002:] Yeah, Steve's mom finally, uh, finally s-, you know, said that, that God will take care of us when it's our time.
[speaker001:] Right.
[speaker002:] She finally admitted, you know, she finally told me it's okay if you don't, but it took every nerve in her body to say that because she's from a very, very old fashioned family.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And, she stayed home and raised her kids and, and she expected all of her kids to do that too, and their wives and to be the, the housewife and have dinner ready by five and, and, you know, be there at every beck and call and, I was raised totally opposite [LAUGHTER]. How we got together, I don't know, but. Because my mother had six girls, and, you know, she worked too.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] And, I guess I just [pause] [barking] and I saw how life was when she stayed home and it was rough, it was hard, and, uh.
[speaker001:] Yeah, and it really is, I know, just like now, you know, there's, there's so much more now. All my income goes for things like luxuries, I mean, it really does.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Accept for what we give to my daughter, to, you know, put her through college and stuff. * Spellingusage: "Accept" should be "Except" But the rest of it we just buy things like boats, or we go on trips, or, you know, just
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] the more or less like entertainment stuff, but.
[speaker002:] Yeah, I think you've, you've earned that though.
[speaker001:] Yeah, I feel like I have, you know, because well, we're just a age now, I'm not old but, I'm older.
[speaker002:] [Whispering] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] And, uh, I got to stay home with my kids, which I really wanted to do, but now I could not go back and do it.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] I really couldn't, I don't think I could stay home all the time and do nothing. * Looks like 2 slash units. And I mean, I did stuff but,
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] to me it feels like I must have done nothing. And I think it's just the new way that people are thinking.
[speaker002:] Yeah, I think so.
[speaker001:] But, uh,
[speaker002:] I think it would be neat if, if they could incorporate into small and large businesses both a built in day cares where the children were there in the facility but not necessarily right there with you.
[speaker001:] Well you know more and more of them are, I don't know if it is up there where you are but where I am, the, just like all the hospitals,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] they're getting day care.
[speaker002:] Are they?
[speaker001:] But the reason they had to do this was because so many people, you know, so many women could not afford, like you said if you had four kids, or even if you had two kids, you would be paying all your salary to pay for those two kids to go.
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] So, uh, more and more of our hospitals, especially, over here are getting them and then some of the bigger companies, but it's mainly the hospitals.
[speaker002:] Yeah, I don't know if the T I in Dallas does or not. I know, I know nobody around here does, it, we're, it's too small around here.
[speaker001:] Oh really.
[speaker002:] Yeah.