The Peter Principle

I'm not stupid, but I'm no intellectual heavyweight, either. At least compared to some of my friends and acquaintances. I am fortunate to have had a good education, good parents who encouraged intellectual development above and beyond what they themselves attained, and a wonderful husband whose intelligence and intellectual curiosity have helped me to learn a great deal I might not have, if it weren't for him. (See Brigham's Blog, right.)

I am also the Martha type who fusses and putters around the house, cleaning and cooking. Of course, somebody has to do those things, and because of tradition, inclination, skill, and time, it falls to me rather than my husband. (And yes, I appreciate going to the bank and withdrawing money that his effort, and not mine, put in there.) It's long been my argument that men have been able to be the more prominent thinkers and doers in this world because they have women at home taking care of the necessities of life. I don't much admire Thoreau because while he was at Walden, he lived only 1 1/2 miles from home, his mother did his laundry, and she kept him supplied with food. It was hardly the lonely hardscrabble self-sufficient life Thoreau painted it. I don't think he was trying to mislead his readers; I think he really thought he had it rough and considered the support his family gave him as his due.

But now we come to something I have written about before: my woeful lack of meaningful work experience. I am trying to get to the point where I can earn enough money writing that I can quit my part-time store job. I have been rejected by a couple of places, and the last item I wrote and submitted was returned as all wrong. I panicked: is it the Peter principle finally at work in my life? (The Peter principle is that everyone rises to the level of his incompetence. In other words, at some point you're going to be in over your head.) I asked for some direction from the editor, and he gave it to me. I rewrote the piece, and re-submitted it, but I fear that it is too intellectually lightweight for his website.

So, I am very sad, but what can I do? Rather than bone up on all things political, work my way from the newsroom to the anchor desk, and network at trade association meetings, for the last twenty-five years I've made a home for four other people.

Some women seem to be able to handle all the other stuff as well, but whether by temperament or sheer inability, I was not up to that. I feel like neither fish nor fowl. I am not completely content working a little and making a home, but neither am I able to swim with the bigger fish. Either the Peter principle has kicked in, or I've got a lot of catching up to do. I guess we'll see!