If I only had a dime for every time a disbelieving woman has looked at me and said, “I can barely survive with two–how do you manage with seven? You’re a *better* woman than me.” No, no, no. There is nothing better, I assure you. I didn’t allow the Lord to give me a house full of children because I’m good at it.
And though I love being a mom, I wouldn’t want to pretend that it’s dreamy all the time. This is hard work. However, it is not as hard as some perceive it when we fully understand the workings of a home.
As the role of women in the home has been undermined, we have lost the “how-to” keys.
One of the main missing elements of the keeper at home is the understanding that above all else, she is a MANAGER.
I think when people see my children and me together, once they get through counting, they imagine a one-woman show and then their head blows off.
We’ve become accustomed to the idea that to mother children is to essentially do all the work ourselves, “sparing” our little ones the burdensome, awful tasks that are ours.
But when homemaking is embraced as a vital part of life, and underneath the work we can find a deep sense of privilege, then part of that privilege includes sharing it with our children, which lightens the load and transfers a profound sense of belonging in their hearts. “Work” becomes what it is…a normal, healthy part of life; and our children aren’t steam-rolled as adults with that reality.
For more details about how to flesh this out, check out 8 Practical Tips for Managing Your Home.
8 comments
Amen! AS always, enamored with your blog, Kelly. You always have such wonderfully insightful things to say. 🙂
And as a management “team”, it means they have a part to play as well. Great post.
That’s it! I think you helped me finally put my finger on it! I have been “steamrolled” by it as an adult! I have had the most amazingly difficult time disciplining myself to manage my home as I should (and as I always wanted to, and dreamed of doing)! And it has just really shocked me how difficult it is for me – especially because it’s what I always wanted growing up. I have always seen it as *my* job alone to do it all, but you are right – it is something I should be able to manage (while disciplining myself to work hard and enjoy my work!) and share with my kids so that they can find the joy that I know there can be in maintaining a peaceful home. I know how I want them to grow up feeling about it, and I’m not a great example of that, but we can all learn together!
Thank you for helping me to grasp this seemingly obvious insight. Funny how often I need someone else to point out the obvious to me.
Shelly–LOL that is great! We all have so much re-learning to do, don’t we?
mrs. gunning…you’re always so encouraging 🙂
Amen! If I was a one woman show, I’d be in BIG trouble! Besides, many hands make light work!
I think many women are frieghtened of having children like you described. They feel like 2 kids are the most they can possibly handle and their head starts to explode when they imagine more…I used to be that way. It’s this world we live in today.
So thanks for sharing and encouraging us that it can be done and you won’t end up in the mental hospital because you have more than 2 kids. : )
I really enjoyed this post. It’s where I struggle.