These past few days I have really been contemplating the theme of housewives. The term seems to have become an antique phrase associated with grandmothers who sit in a church pew with their paper fans. The concept of a woman staying at home to care for her household is not only few and far between but the women who actually desire to this are really quite "extinct". The whole process of life seems to revolve around going to school-grade school-high school-college, and then graduating to hopefully find a job which will provide money to either share with a husband or support a woman on her own because in this day and age, who really needs a man?
I must confess I used to find myself caught up in this mindset. My first couple of years of college I found it enjoyable to read novels of women who had found empowerment and could overcome any obstacle set before them because they were-well, a woman. Kate Chopin's novel, "The Awakening" tells of a woman trapped in her marriage as she finds she is a slave to her household. She finds empowerment by rejecting the themes of womanly duties, and rebels against them. I remember reading the book and thinking what a cop-out. The main character didn't want to follow through with her job as a mom-wife-caretaker of the household, and dropped everything. Ridiculous.
I also read multiple novels about various queens who live life to empower themselves above the mindsets of their husbands. They figured out ways to overthrow the rules set forth by their husbands and began to empower themselves. There was also the radical days of the 60's and 70's where women tossed out the aprons and irons to project themselves as equal members of society.
Then, there is today. Today in which I will be 23 in a few short weeks. (Yikes!) And, I find myself ultimately longing for the day when I can take care of a household. I have spent almost four years in college, will hopefully graduate in December, and the most glorious thing I can hope to attain is to become a loving wife and mother. I pray that the Lord richly blesses me with a warm home, and that my children learn to rise up and bless me. I hope that I will be able to figure out the ways of the kitchen and develop fun recipes to enjoy for a lifetime. I hope to tackle the ol' sewing machine and make the needle and thread my friend...this might take some serious patience and longevity, but I am sure it will come, and I want my home to be warm and open for anyone who walks through it's door. I want to be able to host tea-parties, book discussions, play-dates, and ultimately birthday parties and sleepovers. I want there to be secret hiding places, creaks of doors, a backyard full of exciting adventures, and a bedroom of endless possibilities. I want there to be a living room filled with laughter and a dining room table filled with light-hearted discussions. I want a swing on my front porch to sit and gaze at the beautiful sunset with my sweet husband. I want to be able to host family get-togethers and take a hot turkey out of the oven for everyone to enjoy.
What is wrong with solely hoping to become someone resembling June Cleaver who lived in an era where aprons were a fashion statement, steaming cookies on a decorative plate for the neighborhood kids was a common custom, bridge-clubs, volunteer work, and family oriented activities?
Where are the college classes that help girls prepare to be homemakers? I spend all of my days learning the various concepts of a certain painting created over a thousand years ago by an artist I will never remember, or I read a novel that is graphic in nature and I would desire to not feel my mind with, I figure out an equation the length of my right arm, and I stay up until wee hours of the night cramming large amounts of definitions in my brain to one day make sure that the casserole I have placed in the oven turns out lightly-golden?
The whole concept seems a bit confusing to me and I have to take the fact that I am in college and desiring to finish up soon as an accomplishment (I mean after all, it is a HUGE accomplishment)...but as I ponder the next phase of my life-- which I find myself doing more and more these days, I have to wonder. Where are the June Cleavers of this era? Where are the women who are hoping to spend their lives as a homemaker? What happens when you are given a calling and longing to do so?
I don't look down on corporate women. I find them very respectable and I admire the drive they possess to wake up every morning and take care of their families as well as tackle the workforce, but I do not believe it is for me. I spent an entire sememester last year sitting within the confines of a cubicle and I felt completely useless. I would sit and worry about various things that I could be accomplishing rather than merely sitting there and hoping the phone would ring or my fake plant might die. I pondered the places I needed to go, the laundry I had to do, and the assignments I needed to finish. There was a multitude of other activities I wanted to be doing over sitting in a desk chair with a dressy pair of slacks on. I would glance out of my beloved window every once in a while to a little girl walking hand in hand with her mother, or a woman jogging along with a stroller in front of her and admire the freeness they experienced. Not only were they able to enjoy the beautiful sunny days with their children, but they were able to spend quality time with them with productive things that would ultimately benefit them.
I am sorry, my children will NEVER be put in a daycare while I go sit in a cubicle. That would be the most horrific experience I could imagine.
Although I haven't quite made my mind up as far as the schooling process, I do find homeschooling to be a worthwhile experience. As a young kid, I thoroughly enjoyed it. When I got to high school, I resented it a bit, but I do find that if done correctly, homeschooling can be a very worthwhile experience. The ability to learn and interact within an environment solely based around your family and have good, solid morals taught in a curriculum that seeks to teach you more about God is 100% more refreshing then sticking them in a stuffy classroom with other little kids who cough and sneeze on them and give them germs, who bully them or talk down to them, who give them worldly concepts, and who are exposed to curriculums that will NOT give them a biblical basis for life.
The school thing will definitely be worked out in due time, but homeschooling has been mulling around in my mind as of late.
I think the career of a housewife is a tremendous career and I admire my mother and various women I know who took the call of taking care of their homes instead of sitting in a cubicle. I cherish the multitude of recipes that await me passed down from generation after generation of housewives, and I look forward to sharing them with my future children. I value the quality time I was able to spend with my family and the closeness I have with them as a result, and I love the fact that my home is warm and open and filled with laughter and love.
There are creaks in doors that sound familiar and comforting, there are places in the back yard where pirates used to live--there are secret passages that would lead to the vast unknown, there are tombstones of beloved animals cherished throughout the years that my dad created in the depths of our back yard, there are warm smells from the kitchen, and there is laughter from the kitchen table at dinnertime.
So, June Cleaver, I admire you. You paved a pathway for generations to follow in your footsteps. You donned an apron and made it look appealing, and so to all the housewives out there, I thank you, and I hope to join your team in the future.
I will need immediate assistance with the sewing machine!
No comments:
Post a Comment