I feel like the word homemaker invokes negative or uncomfortable feelings in today’s world. When you say ‘homemaker’, I feel like today’s society automatically thinks of a very stereotypical definition. In one of our favorite TV shows, Parks and Rec, Leslie Knope is criticized for her “failure” as a homemaker when her husband, Ben Wyatt, is running for Congress. Society is so interested in her daily habits that they discuss it on national TV. She’s asked if she cooks for her husband and kids. And a reporter even asks who is watching her kids while she’s at a campaign event with Ben.
Being a homemaker is so much more than slaving over a hot stove all day, making dinner completely from scratch, running constant loads of laundry, and keeping the house clean. When I hear the word homemaker, I think of someone who is “making a home”. Homemaking has more to do with the atmosphere that you create in your home than the tasks that you’re doing on a daily basis. Any woman, whether she works or stays home all day can be a homemaker in her own way. You do you and use your strengths, passions and talents to create a space where your family loves to be!
My word of the year is home. And one of my goals is to be a homemaker using the skills and interests that I have. I want to do what I can to make my home a place where my family loves to be. For me, that includes keeping the house clean, even if I hire a cleaning service every once in a while. It means homemade dinners around the kitchen table every night. But I keep them simple and focus on the time that we spend as a family around that table rather than the meal that we’re eating.
You won’t find me waiting for my husband to walk in the door wearing my fanciest dress. With my hair done up and a strand of pearls around my neck. But you will find me stopping whatever I’m doing to greet him. I will do everything I can to make our home a place of relief for him. And not just a place filled with more stress at the end of a long work day.
Related: My Perfect Wife Perception
Knowing Leslie Knope, her home is filled with fun, laughter, traditions and family time. Her husband might be the better cook. And she might rely on a nanny to help with the kids while she builds a career that she loves. But at the end of the day, the things that she does help to make her house a home. I know that no matter where I am in life or what I have going on, I can do the same. So as a part-time working mom, I will proudly take on the title of homemaker in my family!