As a young American woman about to graduate college, the possibilities are endless. Growing up in today's generation, we were told women could be anything - a doctor, lawyer, police officer, teacher, or a journalist. But no one ever mentions what is arguably one of the hardest jobs out there: being a homemaker.

The Civil Rights Movement granted women more financial security and independence, and the term 'housewife' came to be considered both offensive and belittling to many women--but there is a new wave of housewives emerging to prove that not only are they a housewife, they are proud of their occupation and love every second of fulfilling it.

"Being a housewife and mom was never a goal of mine growing up," says Amanda Ward, 25, who has been a stay-at-home wife and mom for the past eight months. "I always wanted to teach, so I went to college and got my degree and teaching credential. I taught for two years before getting pregnant and I loved it. Being a stay-at-home was something that just kind of happened."

Stay-at-home moms are everywhere: at the grocery store, jogging around town, picking the kids up from soccer practice, and at Parent Teacher Association or Girl Scout meetings. Yet these women often go without much attention or appreciation from society. Ward insists that a typical day for her is just as - or possibly even more - stressful than those high-powered corporate women you see darting around the Financial District.

Since Ward's husband works full-time, the couple has agreed that when the baby wakes up crying in the middle of the night, it is her responsibility to get out of bed and attend to the baby. A few hours later, at 6 a.m., it is time for Amanda to rise and shine to sneak in a quick shower before her daughter wakes up again. There is no time for makeup or hair anymore - she is in and out within ten minutes. She spends the rest of the day playing with her daughter, cleaning the house, doing multiple loads of laundry, running errands around town, preparing dinner, and having it on the table for her husband when he comes home from his day at the office. "Every day is pretty exhausting," says Ward. "There is no break like most people who work get. By the time my husband gets home from work, I'm so tired."

Darla Shine, author of Happy Housewives and founder of the Happy Housewives Club, thinks that all those exhausting days are something to be proud of. "I want mothers everywhere to dismiss this horrible image of desperation and come together to promote the image of the happy housewife; the mother who has her act together, the woman who has a strong marriage, the mother who wants to be with her children, the woman who is proud to be raising her family," Shine writes in the beginning of her book, which includes a ten-step outline to becoming a happy housewife. In addition, the Happy Housewives Club now gives these women a place to come together and share stories, recipes, parenting advise, beauty tips, and chat with fellow housewives.

Not everyone can enjoy becoming a 'happy housewife.' There seems to be a recent boom of pregnancies among younger couples and they must make decisions based on their financial situations in these hard economic times. "I wish I could stay at home, but we can't afford for me to not work," says twenty-six-year-old Erin Miller, who is currently pregnant with her first child. "I have a feeling it's going to be hard for me to go back [to work] and I'm probably not going to want to. I know the first year is going to be really hard and stressful."

Television has not cast the role of a housewife in a very positive light. ABC's Desperate Housewives and Bravo's Real Housewives of Orange County/New Jersey/Atlanta/New York have shown housewives at their worst. Desperate Housewives shows fictional housewives as miserable, cheating on their husbands, or involved in some kind of neighborhood scandal. On the other hand, The Real Housewives shows housewives who are glamorous, always partying, and whipping out their black American Express cards every chance they get. "These shows aren't realistic of most stay at home moms' every day life," says Ward. "I don't think these shows allow the public to see how much hard work and sacrifice is involved with staying home."

Shine's book reflects on this reality, and she writes to praise and celebrate the homemaker lifestyle. "Being a full-time mom is the hardest job there is, and the most disrespected," she writes on her website. "Running a household, building a future, raising decent people, living a life as a happy housewife is a great gig if you can get it. If you are lucky enough to be home, embrace it." [X]