Respect for the house bound

So, I've been partially employed for two months now (my last full time job day was January 11th- hard to believe that the whole life in NC is only two months away- it is seeming lifetimes). I work mainly evenings and weekends. It isn't ideal and it doesn't pay too many bills.
So, I've been largely stuck in the house. Now, I spend a lot of the day looking for full time work or refining applications.* I also do housework- cleaning, organizing, cooking, dishes, laundry. Today, I did a little of each. I also did finances and personal paperwork. Now, I have a small family and home. But, it does actually take some work to do all these things. I never thought to much about them in isolation, because these were all things that I used to do on top of working. However, when you have more time to do things around the house, it does take a good amount of time.
However, that isn't what earned my respect- what earns it for me is that doing all this stuff at home is really isolating. Being a house bound person, without a "career" isn't rocket science- it has its own artistry, but it can be acquired as a skill. However, the working in one environment, where you are the only person mostly, and you may not leave the house much, well, that takes some getting used to! At least at work, you have people around you (you may not like them, but there is an essay by William Hazlett, "On the Pleasure of Hating," so not liking them may be enjoyable) and perhaps daily companions or teammates. I used to have kids around all day and while they may drive you nuts (often), they also provided more comedy than a stand-up marathon. I had fellow teachers to discuss things with (work, the world, the latest trashy gossip). This, at least, gives a little variation to your day. Being house bound (or "Housewife/Househusband") lacks that- maybe the TV helps, but you can't argue too much with it. Or dish about some things, or come up with new ways/methods of making your work better.
So, to people like my mother, who is my best friend (husband, you are too, but Mom wins by a hair, due to default of length of association), who work at home and get little recognition, here's to you not going crazy!

*Optional rant- okay. So, in VA, you apply to teaching jobs by county, not town (as they do in NJ). Now, each county has an online application system that you have to fill out to even be considered for interviewing. What gets me is that each county has the SAME online application system. Now, why isn't there ONE application for the state, which you could then send to each county you want to apply to? Makes sense, right? Instead, I have to do the same, tedious application (which is a long version of my resume- it just gets put into a database format by me) for each county. I also have to send copies of letters of recommendation, resumes, personal statements, CVS, transcripts, and licenses to each county. Why not just have ONE system, where I could scan the documents, and not have to copy, request documents, and mail so often?
Why? Because public education is a government job. Government likes to make many jobs, to hire more people (a form of social welfare, I suppose) to do things that one person could do. So, they need to have a person to process my paperwork at each county office (or maybe 10- I don't know) so more people can work.