Domesticity is making a comeback.
Surveys are showing that young women are taking a look at the world around them and deciding to try a different path.
For the past few decades, we've told girls that their only happiness will be found in their careers. Leave the housework and child care to paid staff. Your fulfillment will only be found in working 40, 50, 60 hour weeks in a cubicle.
And what did that accomplish?
Young women report being more stressed, depressed and miserable than any generation before them.
I think the COVID pandemic changed perceptions. Suddenly, young women were home, with their families, baking sourdough bread and growing vegetables with their kids in the garden. And what did they find? The peace and contentment they'd been missing.
It is a complex situation. Young families often need more than one income just to cover food and housing. My hope is that we can create an economy where more women can work reduced hours, and work from home whenever possible. Not only would this be a blessing for these women, but it will bless their families as well.
I was reflecting on this as I was washing windows and curtains this week. It's such a laborious, domestic chore. But when it was done, I was so happy with the fruits of my labor. The light shines through, unfiltered, and I have crystal clear views of my gardens.
It made me happy.
I am no longer a young woman. And I do work, part time, from home. But I also remember what it was like to have littles at home. And as the saying goes, the days are long but the years are short. SO short. You have to find contentment when you can. Our vocation, our purpose, should be serving and loving our neighbor...those who are nigh. Our families, our friends, our community.
Growing tomatoes in the garden and turning them into dinner. Bringing flowers to my Mom. Scrubbing windows. It doesn't come with a paycheck, but it does pay dividends in peace and joy.
Excellent post and spot on, Mary Rose. Nothing has fulfilled me more than domesticity and simply being available to my family and neighbors.
ReplyDeleteIn my childhood, I dreamed of being a mom and wife. My engineer dad would bring home large sheets of graph paper for me and I'd draw dozens of home plans, imagining all the children my future husband and I would fill the rooms with. I drew kitchens and thought of all the good food I'd cook for my future family.
Accounting is what I went to school for and I did work as a public accountant for 2-1/2 years, quitting when our oldest was born. I worked for one of the Big 4 firms and had tremendous pressure to stay placed on me by my co-workers. My manager told me, "My wife is expecting our first child and she's not quitting her job. You are making a mistake." The head partner of the Pittsburgh office even visited my cubicle to try to talk me out of it, before leaning in and whispering, "This firm wants to be known as 'working-mom-friendly but, between you and me, I commend you for what you are doing and wish you and your husband the best."
It's been 25 years and it not only wasn't a mistake, it's been the biggest blessing God gave me and my husband. Financially, yes, it was a leap of faith, especially being just 25, but because we felt so strongly this was how God wanted us to live, we never questioned, never doubted, and never worried. God was faithful, much much more so than we could have imagined! My accounting background has been useful, too, in non-paycheck ways in that I can prepare our tax returns (and extended family's returns) and I am knowledgable about investing and finances, so God wastes nothing.
My daughters have the same dreams I did - to stay home with their future children - and are making decisions now to make that happen when God decides to bless them with children. My oldest, who is the only one married so far, has a husband that fully supports this decision and I'm so thankful for that.
Wow, your post really struck a chord with me lol! Have a beautiful day, Mary Rose.