"I enjoy doing housework, ironing, washing, cooking, dishwashing. Whenever I get one of those questionaires and they ask what is your profession, I always put down housewife. It's an admirable profession, why apologize for it. You aren't stupid because you're a housewife. When you're stirring the jam you can read Shakespeare." ~Tasha Tudor

"I believe that every woman should know how to housekeep. Giving up entirely the moral influence of a good meal, I believe that all women should learn to cook as an aid to higher education. Cookery puts into practice chemistry, biology, physiology, arithmetic, and establishes an artistic taste. And if our motto is, "Let us live well, simply, economically, healthfully and artistically," we have embraced all the arts and sciences." Mrs. S. T. Rorer
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.
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. 
It’s refreshing to know there are others, who view homemaking as something to be proud of. 
It's often referred to or portrayed in many books, websites, and life in general, with much negativity. But thankfully, many are seeing 
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!!

"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" (canning and freezing garden produce), tidying and cleaning their homes, gathering eggs, baking, setting the table, serving the food themselves (not demanding their husband and children to fend for 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. 
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, she could fry the perfect chicken, and made the most delicious coconut cake. 
And it made me very sad! Oh, I’m sure there are women now who can do all of this and more. But, for the most-part, it isn’t in their sphere today. Not only is homemade healthier, but more economical, and it is a lot simpler than most people think. 
 I could walk that same road today and find a totally different story. I'm aware that some women/wives have to work for one reason or another, but with that just comes the mindset that homemaking isn't that important. I truly hope to change that mindset, and reset their thinking to realize the importance of "having a heart" for homemaking, even when they are not full-time homemakers. Not only for themselves, but also their families. It really does have to come from the heart.
 
I 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 everything about it. ​​

​​​***Courtesy of: Louisiana Folk Life
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​"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


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