I’ve been a stay at home mom now for over 6 years, pushing the 7th here soon. In the beginning, I was stumped as to what to put as my profession when filling out forms. I mean, there’s no professional title for stay at home mom, is there? So when I was unsure, someone put down the word Homemaker for me. But what is a homemaker?
At the time I thought “Homemaker” was just a fancy title for being a stay at home mom. Kind of like an umbrella of titles slumped into one. As the years go on, I am finding that being a homemaker may have nothing to do with even being a wife or mother.
The Art Of Homemaking
As the years go on I have come to realize that a homemaker really is more than just a title. It is a way of life.
This life can look different for different people, but it always comes back to your home and the relationship you have with it. The simple life you desire instead of a fast paced hustle and bustle. You as the homemaker does just that, creates a simple safe haven for yourself and family.
Looking back I realize that this was instilled in me as a child, mostly the perspective I had of my aunt and her familys way of life. They lived in the country, had gardens, made many of their clothes, cleaners, and food made from scratch. They lived a simple life and I craved that. It all just seemed so peaceful that I would spend as much time as possible out there. Flash forward all these years later, I realize I am walking somewhat in my Aunts footsteps.
Of course, homemaking doesn’t have to look like this. As I said it can look like many things but the main point is finding that peace in your everyday life. Creating a heaven inside of your home.
A Home Can Be Made Anywhere
As we have been dreaming and planning of moving to a bigger property with more land and less neighbors, I have become saddened by the thought of leaving this home I’ve come to love.
When we did our initial walkthrough I prayed this would be our home. A few weeks later a contract was written up and it became ours. After we settled in our new home, the beauty of the house started to wear off and the flaws started to blind us.
It’s not until the passed year or so that I have fallen in love with our home. I truly believe it is because of the love, work, and time put into it. We have created a home here and I’ll be sad the day we decide to move on from it.
I truly believe that if I wasn’t the homemaker that I am; creating soft spaces, the smells of oils diffusing, the color of the walls, or even placement of furniture – that this home would still be the cold, colorless building we walked into.
“A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built of love and dreams”
–Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Really
But a home can be made anywhere, really. Homemaking doesn’t have a certain look, but a feel. It’s taking what you have been given and moving with it, slowly, peacefully, lovingly.
Enjoying coffee in your favorite spot in the quiet, peaceful hours of the morning before the rest of the world is up. The smell and taste of food made from scratch. It’s the feel of climbing into bed with freshly washed sheets. It’s looking in every direction and remembering beautiful moments of time in every corner.
But it is also the dirty jobs that you take pleasure in. The washing of dishes, scrubbing of floors, and folding of laundry. You truly love and cherish your home and space so much that you want to take care of it. And so, the dirty jobs are desired as well, even if you loathe the laundry, you take pleasure in knowing another job is done with love.
Homemaking is…
My point being – the title homemaker is so much more than just a title.
Homemaking is a calling, a lifestyle, a passion. A desire that burns like a fire in your soul and you wake up knowing that you created a heaven within the walls of what was once bare.
To sum it all up, homemaker is not just a title I’ve been given by a random stranger because I don’t have a job outside the home. I’m a homemaker because it fills my soul with a joy like nothing else has. It’s my calling, my purpose, my lifes work.
