Homemakers are an endangered species. The Obituary section of the newspaper lists dozens of them daily. "She was a loving mother and a homemaker." I find myself stopping to stare at this sentence as I peruse the Sunday morning paper. Lately, you don't often hear modern-day women announcing their status as homemakers. Many times, the media presents the stay-at-home mom in a negative light. Why is the idea of serving one's family to the point of putting one's individual goals second so unpopular?
Actually, I've discovered an interesting secret. Many women that I meet yearn to be homemakers, primarily. It seems as if the modern woman is expected to juggle it all, and that drains energy from her role as a mother. Did the homemakers of the past resent being cast in this role? I recall a conversation with my grandmother who left her career as a seamstress for Macy's to be a stay-at-home mother in the early 1950's. She laughed at the question. "Are you kidding?" This is a woman who ironed her husband
's white tee shirts. That's not oppression; to me, it's real love.
My mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, these are my Super Hero Homemakers. Nothing is more important to me than my role as a wife and mother. We need to reinstate the importance of this role, and find ways to prioritize it while still retaining a fair sense of self. Devoted homemakers produce happy, stable families. So I hope it is written one day in the very distant future about me: She was, primarily, a homemaker, and that made all the difference.
Actually, I've discovered an interesting secret. Many women that I meet yearn to be homemakers, primarily. It seems as if the modern woman is expected to juggle it all, and that drains energy from her role as a mother. Did the homemakers of the past resent being cast in this role? I recall a conversation with my grandmother who left her career as a seamstress for Macy's to be a stay-at-home mother in the early 1950's. She laughed at the question. "Are you kidding?" This is a woman who ironed her husband
's white tee shirts. That's not oppression; to me, it's real love.My mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, these are my Super Hero Homemakers. Nothing is more important to me than my role as a wife and mother. We need to reinstate the importance of this role, and find ways to prioritize it while still retaining a fair sense of self. Devoted homemakers produce happy, stable families. So I hope it is written one day in the very distant future about me: She was, primarily, a homemaker, and that made all the difference.
-(Above) My beautiful grandma, Vincenza LaCapria, 1940's
1 comment:
Loren, thank you for this lovely blog and your obvious pride in your beautiful Domestic Church. We should always relish our divine gift of being able to keep a home and raise souls for Heaven.
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