Modern Homemaker

It's true. I am a homemaker and I love what I do. It was quite an adjustment from life as I formerly knew it but it has to be one of the best things that I have done thus far in my short, yet incredibly full, life. A friend told me, "You are not a 'housewife' because you are not married to your home. You are a maker of your home... you are a home maker." Her statement made me smile. Now I have heard the term "Domestic Engineer" - which I just find really funny. Did you know you can actually major in that? It's just a gussied up word for what many of us actually knew as "Home Economics" --and I would say that is still a better term for it. However, the last time I had anything that was remotely related to Home Economics was back in the 8th grade. Everything now is on the job training. I am thankful that there is grace in the learning curve. I am thankful for the opportunity to be a homemaker... it's not mindless, unproductive, lazy, or anything else that "society" tends to stereotype it with. Although, I will admit that I used to be one who would apply said stereotypes... little did I know then.

With all that to say, I found myself laughing the other day and pondering the women that went before me in this wonderful estate... Why, you ask? I will tell you!

My Papa did a great job raising me on his own. He did teach me a lot but I am sure that no parent can teach EVERYTHING -- especially a Father (who has very different roles in a household) to a daughter (who will eventually have very different roles in the household someday). In my frustration of trying to fold a fitted sheet and having my linen closet look a little frumpy, I thought to myself, "Surely there has to be a way to do this!" So, like any other normal red-blooded American I Googled (!) "how to fold a fitted sheet." Lo and behold, site after site came up on how to fold a fitted sheet! Eureka! I was pumped as there were videos and photos (as I am such a visual person) and now my linen closet looks much happier. And I am proud of myself for learning something new. That's when my laughter set in! Google! Of all things! How did women before Internet ever find things... that's the point... they are the ones that figured it out and passed it on. Thanks to them for their hard work and ingenuity and I am thankful that I was ordained to live now in the computer age. I will say, there is still plenty of room for ingenuity!

I laughed yesterday, too, as I was writing an e-mail to my fun friend in Albuquerque and told her what I was up to for the day. As I was typing out that I "need to go pick up some water" I snickered because even with all of our technology we still haul water at some level. Thankfully, I don't need to go down to the river with a bucket. Rather, I drive to Costco and get some bottles or I head over to the grocery store front and put my larger bottles in a machine that is plugged into some source and it fills my bottle. Then I put them in a cart that easily transports the eight-pounds-per-gallon to my car and I drive it home in a contraption that runs on gas and not on grass.

I find life highly entertaining.