The Joy of Homemaking

I'm a homebody. I'm also a morning person. I love getting up early in the morning to prepare breakfast and tidy up my home. There, I've said it.

I get the strangest looks when I make these statements. Women have been perceived for so long as living meaningless lives if they don't have a "career" and choose to be "just" homemakers. Staying home has been made to appear as degrading, mindless work that no intelligent woman would care for.

Why have we bought into this? I worked for many years and listened as working moms complained of being tired all the time, of not being able to get things done, of not having time for themselves because all their spare time was spent in household chores or getting children from here to there. Some women worked overtime so they could hire a cleaning woman to come over and clean their homes because they were too tired to do it themselves. This seemed contradictory to me. I personally lamented the fact that Saturdays were spent doing laundry, grocery shopping, and cleaning the house, because I couldn't get everything done during the week. The only real day of rest was Sunday, when we could do things as a family, but all I ever wanted to do was veg out in front of the TV because I was so exhausted.

Now, I won't say that my days are spent in leisure. There is much to be done to keep a household running. My family depends on me to keep the home not just clean but also comfortable and presentable; clothes washed and ironed; meals prepared on a budget that are healthy and still tasty; be nurse and doctor when someone is sick; teacher when homework needs to be done; giver of advise, laugher of jokes, sympathetic shoulder. I keep busy each and every day. The difference is, I'm able to get everything done and still have time on Saturdays to play cards or board games with my kids. I can drive up to my daughter's school spur of the moment and spend a weekend with her without worrying about everything I left behind that needed to get done but didn't. I can be the homebody that I am and enjoy it because I don't have to run to my job where there are 100 different problems that need to get solved. Best of all, I can have my quiet time with God without checking the clock because I've gotta be done by a certain time or else I'll be late for work.

I will say this: there have been adjustments made to my lifestyle. We don't eat out very often. Even an occasional pizza has to be looked at from a budgetary point of view. I don't have a new outfit every other weekend. I'm more careful what I buy, even at the grocery store. "Do I need it, or do I just want it?" has become my new mantra. But these adjustments haven't been life threatening by any means. They haven't even been slightly painful (well, maybe the shopping part...). It's a small, small price to pay to be able to enjoy what I've always wanted to be: a stay at home mom and homemaker.

I would say to women out there who hate their jobs and are tired of working outside the home, forget what society tells you is acceptable. So what if our culture says staying at home is brainless, fruitless, thankless work? I can tell you, having been on both sides of the spectrum, that is a complete and total lie. Homemaking is fulfilling, joyful work if you allow it to be. All you need is the right attitude. Believe that what you're doing is beneficial to yourself and your loved ones. It's worth it to your family.