Dumb survey

I suppose it shouldn't matter. I know the truth. Why do nameless, faceless statistics needs to reflect the truth? And why am I so angry? The anger is big too--you can tell because I am not changing the word dumb in the title to be something more effective. It's an issue of pride.

I hate it when I go to a doctor or fill out the very long census survey (did you get the long one?) and my only job choice is unemployed. I am not unemployed. I don't need to look for work because I do work. Sure I don't pay taxes for the work I do because I don't receive monetary compensation. I get it. That makes me unemployed. But dang it, I am not unemployed.

On the questionnaire for the diabetes educator, one of the questions was something like, "What sort of duties do you perform at your job?" I wrote,"Manager of finances, diet, emotions, behavior, cleaning, laundry, and garden." In parenthesis I wrote homemaker. Previously I had marked the employed box on the questionnaire. After glancing not -so-carefully through my answers she asked, "What sort of job do you have?" She didn't even smile at what I thought was a witty answer to her mundane questionnaire.

And while I am on this soapbox, I HATE it when people ask me what I do and if I say I stay home with my kids or say homemaker, they then ask me, "What else do you do?" My instinctive answer to this question is to scream though the closest I've come is an angry laugh. What else am I supposed to do? Do you really think I can do much with two toddlers running around? ( I understand the question if the kids are in school). If I was a nanny would they ask this question? No, because a nanny gets paid and people can imagine being a nanny as a full-time job. But if I do the work of a nanny and a house cleaner and a cook, but my title is stay-at-home mom, then apparently I am supposed to do more.

Sorry. I needed to rant--isn't that what a blog is for? That darn census survey ticked me off.