Thursday, March 13, 2008

Save the Homemakers!



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.
-(Above) My beautiful grandma, Vincenza LaCapria, 1940's

1 comment:

Leticia said...

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.

Dear Internet Traveler,

Welcome to my writer's blog, started about six years ago for fun. Over time, the writing I have posted has ranged from personal reflection, to Long Island history research, to tall tales for my own amusement, to feature articles for local newspapers. As you can see from topics listed here, I travel in many mental directions in regard to interests. Click on the tabs and labels to explore my strange mind which senses that you may be having a criss-cross day. If so, perhaps this blog will distract you. However, please note that if you tell me my blog is beautiful just to get me to advertise rhinoplasty surgery and cheap drugs from Canada in your comment, I will ask the gods to give you a tail that cannot be concealed.

Fondly,

Loren Christie

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