I am debating on building a fire, simply to chase off the chill. Although, I am 99% sure I am not going to, for the simple reason that I cannot walk away from a fire. Sweet Hubs kept it going all day yesterday. I cannot say I accomplished much on my to do list, the warmth of the fire was too alluring for me. Pups and I spent a very relaxed day doing basically nothing, just reclining and resting in the warmth. Was it wonderful, of course it was, why wouldn't it be? Do I feel a tad like a lazy bug, yup.
Definitely not a bad way to start the week, from a relaxation standpoint. Unfortunately, I'm now behind on my self-imposed to do list. It's another day, the sun has risen and I have plenty of time to catch up, it's a fairly light list this week.
Being without a longarm and waiting on supplies for other things, means that I can focus on household things. Ya know paying bills, doing the taxes, planning the spring planting. Those kind of things. I also have a few maintenance items to take care of around the house. Repairs caused by puppies mostly, they sure can be destructive. Unfortunately it doesn't really fill my creative soul, doing those kind of tasks.
I know, I know... spoiled wife, first world problems. Winter is tough on me. I love everything about it, except the limitations. I look out back at the yard that once held grass, and long to fix it, so that it is useful and puppy friendly. I have projects in the garage that I would love to work on, but frostbite is not my friend, and it's just as cold out there, only without the wind. Which limits me to inside projects, and I'm running a bit low on those.
I love being a stay at home dog mom, I adore being able to take care of our home and my "family", I just haven't mastered it yet. Sometimes I find myself drawn into the blurriness that society has created. I hear my neighbor questioning my early retirement, like it was a crime. I see the puzzled looks on faces as to why I would be comfortable staying home. I see things like my niece posted about her transition to homemaker and full time mommy and the struggle it is causing. And then I question why society has become this way?
Why is it not okay to simply be the one taking care of the home? The one that is responsible for all things based around the home. My husband loves being taken care of, he rarely does any actual chores around the house. Although he gets props for doing the dishes for a week while my wounded thumb healed. And I take pride in the fact that he doesn't have to. In fact my only regret is that I wasn't able to do this when my children were younger.
I feel a lot of the struggles we are currently facing in our country/world, could be resolved if we returned the task of raising and taking care of the children to at least one parent. I am not so sure we ever needed both parents working, but we sure bought into that didn't we? I know I did. Even though my soul longed to be at home with my babies, I was often working two or sometimes three part time jobs. I'd bought into the lie that we needed stuff and therefore we needed to constantly be in hustle mode.
Hindsight is always 20/20 and from the lens I look through now, that time in life could have been far better spent. As it was, between part time jobs and taking care of the household, I am afraid like most kids mine got what was left of me, not the best of me.
Since the debacle of 2020, I am so impressed to see an increasing number of people reevaluating life. It's priorities, what is important, how to spend time and resources. My own daughter's parenting style is very free range, although she is deeply involved and available for her kiddo's. Well and all the ones she acquires. As kids are drawn to her like moths to flame.
I think we will endure some rocky times as our society continues to shift, I really think the pendulum is swinging back, there will be labor shortages continuing while things balance. I feel that we are learning to adjust spending expectations and desires versus true needs. The lines at the grocery seem to indicate a bit more cooking at home. So much is changing.
My homemaking heart is thankful for the shift I am observing. Mom and Dad's out with their kids doing "free" things. Playing together at parks, spending time being part of the world. It feels like the shift towards family is happening again. I can hardly wait for the shift to move back towards communities.
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| my sweet handyman |
I know that I am old fashioned. The tech world hurts my very soul. It disconnects us, it softens us. It creates a dependency that I am not comfortable with. Does it have a place? Or course there is good, as with everything, it needs boundaries. I don't feel society, which has been in awe of it all, the ease, the "magic", etc... has been aware of what it has been replacing in our lives.
For example, while I've been typing I've been pondering making a couple of batches of soap today, it takes 6 weeks to cure, and I definitely prefer to make it during the cooler months as opposed to the warmer ones when I have other things to do.
There was a time that women were tired of that lifestyle, cooking, cleaning, taking care of basic needs non-stop. It was easy to shift us away from one perceived treadmill to another. Especially, when the original treadmill was portrayed as something bad and something that only a second class person would do. Failing to realize that joining the rat race was simply the same thing. The difference was that you were doing things for someone else and needing to replace that in your own life by labor from another.
I do not like to use chemical laden things on my skin or hair. I want to know every ingredient, be able to pronounce it's name and not worry what it is a bi-product of. I'm fussy. As a result even when I worked full time, I still found the time to take care of making my soaps and shampoos. Heck, I've even discovered non-chemical ways to launder my clothing. Soap nuts and wool balls are amazing, FYI!
My personal pendulum swung back suddenly, it took me a moment to thrive in it. I don't have a time clock and there are times where it doesn't feel that I have vacations or time off. And then there are days like yesterday. I did the bare minimum. I took a day of rest. In fact Hubs and I took Sunday as a day of rest also. I don't know when the last time we did that was. It was refreshing and peaceful. It made sense why God commanded a day of rest. I mourn that we as humans do not honor that day, as it felt like an incredible reset. I guess it's because we've been sold on the idea that success is equal to non-stop hustle.
I hope the global pendulum continues to swing in the direction that it's been heading. I hope that we stop looking outward for solutions and continue to look inward. And that more of us continue to remember to pray!
Well, time to refill my coffee, fold the laundry and get busy on that to do list that I create to keep my life running smoothly.
Love and prayers...
Good one! 381+
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