Am I a coward as a housewife?

My wife and I are both salaried workers, so we don’t have much money but we don’t have much left. After saving for many years, we were able to buy a small apartment. During the social distancing period last year, I lost my job. Luckily, my wife’s company wasn’t affected much, we could work remotely and our income was still stable.

Since I lost my job, I have been looking for other jobs but none of them have worked out. My wife said that if my child doesn’t go to school, hiring someone to look after him is a hassle and a waste of money, so she advised me to take the rest of the year off and consider it after Tet. I thought it was reasonable so I listened. But I didn’t expect that I would become the target of scrutiny from the women around me, even my family.

They felt sorry for my wife for choosing a useless husband, so she had to "bend over the burden of the country". I was considered lazy and unprogressive for not looking for another job but staying home to take care of the children and do housework. Many people said that men should throw away their pride, if they can't find a job that suits their field, they should temporarily work as a motorbike taxi driver, shipper, porter... as long as they can earn money to support their wife and children. People looked down on "men who only like to do easy, clean jobs, and ask their wives for money to go to the market".

Before, I worked for a higher salary than my wife, and my family had some savings. Wasn't the savings for emergencies? Now that my family is in trouble, I have some savings. I can still support myself and have not had to rely on anyone. Even if my wife supported me for a few months, what would it matter? I didn't plan to stay home for the rest of my life. Husband and wife share the hardships and rely on each other, isn't that what happens at times like this? Why are people so cruel? When we first got married, my wife was a housewife for years, why didn't anyone say anything?

Not only do outsiders not understand, but even my maternal family doesn’t understand me. They are afraid that their daughter will suffer and marry a useless husband who depends on his wife, so they blame me from near and far, urging me to find a job. Yes, I have started looking for a job. Hopefully the dark days will soon pass.

According to VnExpress