It is my art

Yesterday, while the kids napped, I enjoyed my nap time routine in the kitchen. I ate something, cleaned up the lunch mess, and started prepping for dinner. I also decided to make some cherry-chocolate cookies to share with community group later in the evening. While I was happily busy with these tasks, the carpenters who are working on the bathroom were coming in and out, busy with work of their own. When the first batch of cookies came out of the oven, I took a plate outside and offered them some.

"Boy, there arent many of you around any more," one of them said to me. "At least not in my world."

I wasnt sure what he was referring to. Not many women with long hair? Not many women who cook? So I asked for clarification...

"Stay-at-home moms."

Ohhhhhh. "Yeah, I know a few." (When in all actuality I know more than I can count)
I felt a little 1950's for a minute with my cookbook on the counter and my sewing machine on the table, and my kids tucked into bed upstairs. I forget about the perception of homemakers.
It sometimes doesnt occur to me (in my small world) that MOST women do not stay home with their children to "homemake" as they say. Most, but not all, of the women I hang out with have made the choice to forgo careers or work part-time so that they spend the majority of their time with their kids. But I forget how privileged we are- that we are the minority.I forget that most women will never have the choice to make.

Homemaking is certainly not what I imagined myself doing during my long study nights in college, but it is the only thing I truly want to do with my time. There are days I struggle to feel appreciated, and sometimes wish moms got yearly reviews. But there are works in progress here, great creations being guided by my hand. I feel like Im learning a new art. I am learning, but not perfecting just yet.