I’ve been thinking a lot about my role as a wife.

Every other role as a woman comes naturally and I seem to do it without thinking twice. For example, growing up, I never felt “maternal,” but once I had children it was like God flipped a switch. Loving my boys comes naturally and so does caring for them.

I don’t want to be misunderstood. Loving Justin is as easy as breathing. What I’m struggling with is how to live in a world where gender roles are confused and finding role models of women wearing a million hats gracefully are hard to come by.

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I think we’ve taken the Women’s Movement too far. While women deserve the right to vote and to earn as much as a man for the same job done, I disagree with women trying to act like men. Most women I know who attempt it are unhappy.

I watch shows like Downton Abby and movies like A&E’s Pride and Prejudice and I think of what a simpler time it was. There are always struggles, of course, and the work was harder, but there was a respect when it came to women in the form of manners and chivalry.

And I love the dresses and the mannerisms and the trust they had in their husbands to provide for them.

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What I’m having a hard time with is juggling the duties of being a wife, mother and homemaker while pursuing a career on top of it. Everything can’t be done well, so something suffers. But what?

Sometimes I wish we lived in a time where I wasn’t expected to do anything but run a household. In my fantasy, I live in the early 1900s in England and am part of the aristocracy. But the entrepreneurial spirit that courses my veins makes me proud to live in a time where my dreams are within my reach and I have the right to pursue them.

Similarly, I love that men are no longer as chauvinistic as they used to be. As a whole, I think men in my generation are more willing to help around the house, take care of the children and encourage their wives to pursue their dreams. I know my husband does this amazingly well and I am extremely blessed to have him.

So what are we to do? I wish the women who have managed to stay happily married, raise decent children, and accomplish their dreams would be more vocal with advice. I crave it.

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