下岗后如何过日子?

Many women have wished their husbands could find a way to spend more time with their children and many husbands have wished the same. Now the recession is providing a forced chance for some couples to make those wishes come true.
很多妻子希望她们的丈夫能够想办法花更多时间和孩子们相处，许多丈夫也有着同样的愿望。如今的经济衰退正给一些夫妇提供一个不得已的机会来实现这些愿望。

The New York Times recently profiled some men in the New York suburb of Pelham Manor, out of work and finding a new closeness with their children and school communities. They're also finding some frustrations and disappointments with the loss of jobs that defined much of their identities.
《纽约时报》(The New York Times)最近报导了纽约郊区佩罕马诺(Pelham Manor)的一些丈夫，他们在失业后发现自己和孩子以及学校社区建立起了一种新的亲密关系。失业是他们的一大共同点，也给他们带来了诸多挫折和失望。

Andrew Emery, who quit his insurance job ahead of expected layoffs but has spent months out of work, picks up his 8- and 5-year-old kids from school, works on home renovations and takes bike rides. Tom Imperato, who's seen a sharp decline in his real-estate business, does the food shopping for his wife and 9-year-old twin daughters〃and has learned that Costco is pretty empty at 11:30 on a weekday. Mr. Emery's friend Jerry Levy, who lost his hedge-fund job a year ago, spends more time with his four children and has become active in the PTA, serving as its financial liaison to the school board and launching a run for the school board himself.
艾梅利(Andrew Emery)在预感到会被裁员后辞去了保险业工作，他在家待业已经有数月，每天去学校接送自己8岁和5岁的孩子，装修房屋，骑骑单车。因佩拉托(Tom Imperato)目睹了自己的房地产生意一落千丈，他现在每天为妻子和9岁大的双胞胎女儿做饭，还知道了Costco商店在每个工作日上午11:30的时候人比较少。艾梅利的朋友莱维(Jerry Levy)一年前失去了对冲基金的工作，他现在花更多的时间陪伴四个孩子，积极参与家长会，成为了家长会和学校董事会的财务联络人，并打算自己参选学校董事。

'On the one hand, the PTA can use all the help it can get from men with financial expertise at a time when the proposed school budget is under enormous pressure,' says the Times article. 'And women are happy to see stay-at-home husbands building closer relationships with their children. But one little-spoken effect is an uneasy feeling that these highly successful men are facing the pain and potential shame of being out of work.'
这篇报导说，一方面，在学校预算计划面临巨大压力的时候，家长会可以用上从具有金融专业知识的人那里获得的所有帮助。妻子们很乐意看到居家丈夫和孩子们建立起更为亲密的关系。但一个很少宣之于口的影响是有种不自在的感觉：这些原先成就斐然的男人们现在要面对失业的痛苦以及可能的耻辱。

I imagine circumstances wouldn't allow me to pursue a similar path to these men's were I to lose my job. I would need to find another job quickly, or we would see a dramatic change in our lifestyle, since our savings are much thinner than they ought to be.
我想，如果我失业，自己的境况可不允许我追随这帮人走上类似的道路。我可能需要迅速找到另一份工作，否则我们的生活方式就会面临显著的变化，因为我们的积蓄实在少得可怜。

If I did have the chance to spend more time being involved with my daughter and son and their school, though, I'd be interested to see how our mother-centered parenting community would adapt. I admit I've taken too much advantage of other mothers' tendency to just ask for my wife when they call to make plans for the kids. Money permitting, maybe a spate of joblessness would jolt me into taking more initiative. But, of course, I should just go ahead and do that anyway.
不过，如果我真的有机会花更多时间接触我的一对儿女以及他们的学校，我倒是有兴趣看看我们以母亲为中心的家长群体将如何适应。我承认，由于其他妈妈习惯于打电话来找我妻子商量孩子的事，我也顺理成章地省了不少心。如果财力允许，或许失业一阵子会迫使我变得更加主动。不过，当然，我应当在继续好好工作的同时做到这点。

Readers, are you noticing more out-of-work or underemployed men taking an active role in school and childcare〃or are you one of them yourself?
读者们，你们是否注意到现在有更多失业或不充分就业的男人们更为积极地参与到学校以及照看孩子中去呢，或者你就是他们当中的一员？