Housewife Padawan

All I ever wanted was to be a wife and mother. That was my great aspiration as I entered my adult years. I dreamed of my house being the place where all the kids wanted to play because I was the mom who made the best cookies. All the kids would want to stay for dinner in my tidy, cozy, warm little home.

These dreams were all well and good but I had one major problem. I didn’t actually know how to do anything required of a good homemaker. I couldn’t make a bed to save my life. Forget sewing, I didn’t know how. My cooking skills were pretty shabby and rolling out a pie crust was out of the question.

Let’s face it; in this world of working mothers, not all of us are getting the training of generations past. I know my mom had the same dreams I did when she was young but life gets in the way. She didn’t plan to end up a single mother working long hours week after week, year after year until suddenly her kids were grown and out on their own. I have a wonderful mom; she is my great friend and I love her dearly. She is a great cook and housekeeper and she did teach me a lot. I know she would have taught me more had circumstances been different.

Before I met my husband, a desire sprung up within me to become an expert housewife. I needed to know what to do so that I would be ready the day after our wedding. What silliness! I did teach myself to bake and thanks to my love for it, I found it very easy. My mom is a fantastic cleaner but the actual desire to keep things clean and tidy did not come naturally to me. Baking was much more fun! By the time I met my husband, I was an excellent baker, a decent cook, and a lousy housekeeper. I’m still a lousy housekeeper!

We spent a summer living with my husband’s parents and that is where the padawan training began. At the time, we were going through each of the Star Wars movies. I won’t even pretend to be a Star Wars expert but I do know that a padawan is like an apprentice being trained by a Jedi master.
I naturally started following my mother in law around the house, watching her every move. I actually carried a little notebook with me and would sneak to my room to write down a tidbit of information from what I saw her doing. My husband began to call me “Mom’s little padawan” and it stuck!

My mother in law is a classic housewife. She is one hard working lady! She stayed home to raise all four of her kids. She cooks delicious meals, bakes amazing treats, and is extremely hospitable. She can sew, make crafts, press flowers and knows how to make a Christmas angel out of a necktie. At any given time, she can tell you which store in town has the cheapest produce and meat. If I think I got a great deal on laundry detergent, she’ll have already found it somewhere else for a dollar less. She just knows.
So it only made sense for me to follow her around. She didn’t know I was taking notes and still refer to those notes to this day. She just took me under her wing and showed me what she knew.

Three years later, I still have so much to learn. I’m definitely still a padawan! I picked up some great tips from my mother in law. I learned how to cook great food that’s lower in fat. I learned some new recipes for amazing cookies. I learned how to sew a pillowcase (that was my sister in law, the first padawan of mom). Despite all that she can do, the vital thing I noticed was this: my mother in law will leave the dirty dishes in the sink if her family wants to watch a movie or play games. She always puts the people before the housework. That is the most important lesson I have learned; the basic art of being a great homemaker. Love God, love your husband, and love your kids. This is what really counts. All the cooking, cleaning, and nurturing is done because of the deep love I have for my family. They are always going to think I make the best cookies because they know the loving care that goes into those cookies. And the fact that they are the best cookies ever kind of helps too…don’t you think?!