domestic bliss

I've had a bit of a hard time coming to terms with the idea of being domestic. For the longest time I associated a domestic life as being one that involved being tied to the kitchen, where the woman/housewife did all the house work, all the chores and did so looking beautiful and happy. No way was that ever going to be me. It seemed so wrong, so old fashioned, and as though it were taking a step back for the whole feminist movement.

But somewhere along the line of going to school, becoming a teacher, working late into the night lesson planning and marking, and eventually burnout, I came to the realization that really and truly I didn't want to be run off my feet.

Even though I could do it all, really I didn't want to. Being exhausted and overworked wasn't my idea of a quality life. Furthermore, I knew that given the decision and the opportunity to stay at home and take care of my family, that I would choose that, and that I would find happiness in doing so.

But being an at home mama is not exactly what I had in mind either. For starters I do not have an immaculate house with dinner on the table everyday at 5. I'm not the perfectly made up wife that only cares about how my husband's day was and not my own- no!
Instead, my days comprise of giving time to my son, watching him grow and learn and teaching him about the world around him. My time is spent cooking wholesome nutritious dinners (something that I have always found great joy in) from scratch so that we can all eat healthy meals together at the table everynight. My days are spent working on my photography business, editing photos and coming up with new ideas. My time is spent being creative- whether it be in the home, with my child or in an artistic way. I am by no means a desperate housewife and in fact I don't know many stay/work at home mamas that are.

So the other day when I was at the library, I came across this book as I was scanning the isles. It was all about the gentle art of living domestically and I was intrigued. The author, a blogger (yarnstorm.blogs.com), wrote about her love of so-called domestic arts, like quilting, sewing, knitting and baking and how she ties these gentle arts into her everyday life. She wrote about her love of colour, her need to surround herself with beautiful objects and some of her favourite comforts.

Reading this book made me feel as though I had come across her personal journals, ones that included passed down recipes and stories from years gone by. It made me feel inspired and encouraged to know that gentle domestic arts such as textile work, baking ect are not just art forms of years gone by, but instead are ones that are very much alive and celebrated today...for proof of this just look at the list of blogs that I will include at the bottom of this post.

It's books like these that encourage me to continue on with my chosen path of being a work at home mama. I like the fact that being an at home mama can include so many more things than one would imagine. Instead of being just an at home mama, I'd much rather identify myself as being an artist, a baker, a photographer, a quilter, a sewer, a nature lover, a preschool teacher, a chef.....are you catching my drift?

xox

And here's a list of just a few blogs where I find domestic inspiration...

:: Are So Happy

:: Maya Made

:: May All Seasons Be Sweet To Thee

:: Soule Mama

:: Bluebird Baby

:: Small Things

:: Apples With Honey

:: Rhythm of the Home Blog