🌷HOMEMAKING🌻
Image by HomeMaker from Pixabay
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Homemaking
Homemaking should be fun, rewarding, and something we look forward to every day. But for some of us it has become a burden most of the time. Let's try and bring some joy back into our most cherished position we'll have in this life other than that of being a wife and mother.
"Mama always believed in keeping somebody busy and she kept busy herself. You had gardening in the spring and canning in the summer, and in wintertime you quilted and pieced scraps, and we sewed our garments then sometimes. She carries on her craft throughout the life cycle, aware that it binds her to the past, gets her through the present, and lasts into the future as heirlooms which will go on to color new lives. Just as she worked seasonally in her garden, the quilt-maker works on her quilts during the winter of her life, her art flowering and warming her spirits." And I will add that she also warms the spirits of others in her life! Women from my childhood shaped my life with their daily tasks of sewing, gardening, putting up, tidying, cleaning, gathering eggs, baking, setting the table, serving the food themselves, and all the things they went about doing. They NEVER ever thought it wasn’t their job, or that they had more important things to do out in the world. This WAS their job and their world! And it wasn't a hobby! They were very proud of the way they kept their homes and how good they could cook. Their children blessed them indeed. They WERE known in the gates. And their husband’s were known in the GATE. Proverbs 31: 23 They took it all seriously, this thing called homemaking. All of this was a little brainstorm I had last night as I sat and enjoyed eating my coconut birthday cake….I fondly remembered a certain neighbor woman who kept the perfect house, and could fry the perfect chicken, and made THE most delicious coconut cake I have ever put in my mouth…. And it made me very melancholy…And sad!! Oh, I’m sure there are women now who can do all of this and more. But, it isn’t in their sphere today for the most part. I could walk that same road today and find a totally different story. I was and AM blessed to have had this legacy. It truly shaped me into who I am today. I'm not perfect by a long shot, but the teaching by example is what has stuck with me. It makes me strive a little harder to recreate it all for my own children and grandchildren, and I'm happy to say they love it and know it is their legacy too. YES, I’m getting older, but I try to keep the old ways and traditions alive. Are there ANY young ladies out there who have these same values, dreams and are satisfied that this is their calling and their sphere?? Hmmmm, are there any OLDER ladies who share this vision? And are you keeping your minds and hands busy, and giving some little girl a dream to truly live by, by seeing you do the things you do and wanting to do those same things when she grows up? What DO those little girls see you do? Yes, and even little boys. You’re also setting the tone for which they will choose a wife. What will she be like, what will she fill her day with, really? Laundry Scrub A Dub Dub Coming Soon!
Italicized Text courtesy of: Louisiana Folk Life |
Believe it or not, being a homemaker, housewife, home-keeper, is not a thing of the past!* For some women, it is a very real, heart-felt, calling.
*Referring to my search for photos to add here, all I found was females modeling skimpy clothing as if for a nudie magazine. Until I finally found the one pictured! One photo out of dozens! It’s refreshing to know there is someone who views homemaking as something to be proud of. It’s not just the way it’s portrayed in the photos, but the way it is referred to in many books, websites, and life in general, negatively. And of course, you can be what you want to be! Just as women who want to be a homemaker can be a homemaker! Our choice!! Some of the quotes I include here and on my website actually do come from women who may be viewed as feminists, and indeed some are. Although, most of them were from a place in history where domestic help was responsible for the homemaking. Even so, I choose to include these sweet references from a time in history where books were full of little phrases that invoked pride in homemaking and cookery. And also a time in history where the view was not as biased, or as vulgar as it is today. 
"In the good old fashioned way she is very accomplished, and has made this house a happy home to us all, ever since we can remember. she is not elegant, but genuinely good, and so beloved and respected that there will be universal mourning for her when her place is empty."
Eight Cousins, by ~Louisa May Alcott~ "Let her teach you what she has been, a skillful, frugal, cheerful housewife; the maker and keeper of a happy home, and by and by you will see what a valuable lesson it is." Eight Cousins, by ~Louisa May Alcott~ "There is one very excellent, necessary, and womanly accomplishment that no girl should be without." "Oh, what is it?" cried Rose eagerly.
"Housekeeping!" answered Dr. Alec. From the book, Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott.
A good housekeeper is an executive officer, an accountant. She knows sanitation and hygiene; is a household physician and a nurse, she should have a social sense so as to make her family and guests feel at ease and happy. ~Mabel Kittredge, 1918 "There are three last things for the housewife to do before the meal: to see that the fire is in condition to leave, that soiled pots and pans are filled with water, and last of all to take an instant to wash her hands, remove her apron and make herself tidy."
Elizabeth Hale Gilman, Housekeeping 1916 MORE TO COME... Would you like to publish your related articles here? Email me: Feminine Ways |
