Why I Love Being a Homemaker

A recent conversation Ben had with one of his bosses really made me thankful for my job.

Rarely will Ben leave much later than 5 o'clock to commute home. Unless he has a meeting with Hans Christian. Then, it's always scheduled late, and Hans Christian is always running late, and then the meeting takes longer than expected...thus making Ben come home late (yes, HC is usually on my "list"). Last week, Ben arrived home at 6, thanks to Hans Christian. As he came into the kitchen for a hug and a kiss, he told me, "You're going to appreciate this conversation I had with Hans Christian." Apparently the reason Hans Christian ended the meeting so soon (5:40, soon?) was because his wife was making dinner, a rare occasion in his household. When Ben told him that I make dinner every night for him, Hans Christian was amazed. Then Ben told him that I make his breakfast and lunch too. Laughingly Hans Christian stated, "Now you're going to tell me that she does your ironing as well." "Yep," Ben replied with a proud smile. Hans Christian shook his head in amazement.

Truth be told. I hate ironing. And I'm not a huge fan of packing Ben's lunch. But I've been doing it much more cheerfully this week--and with a lot of pride too. Ben was so proud to tell his boss what I do for him and I love him by being the keeper of his home. How awesome is that?

Here's a short list of why I love being a homemaker:
-Summer days with no agendas and no schedules.
-Tan little boys running around the yard every afternoon in nothing but undies, alternating between playing in the pool and the dirt pile, thus making them extremely dirty.
-Looking through cooking magazines to plan a new meal for dinner.
-Having multiple projects started in the morning and slowly wrapping them up before Ben gets home.
-Hundreds of kisses and hugs from my boys.
-Trying to decide what to do during nap time: read, scrapbook, clean, garden, cook, blog...
-Going to OMSI on a week day with very few people there.
-Going for a run in the park, only to find loads of blackberries and proceeding to pick 3 bucket fulls.
-Going over to a neighbors house with a cup of coffee in hand to visit, because you know she's missing her kids that just left for their first day of school.
-Being rested and joyful for my husband when he comes home from work.
-Making lists of things to do, but not being stressed about having the time to get them done.
-Listening to my kids chatter, laugh, and ok, sometimes fight in the background as I work on a project.
-Not feeling frantic or stressed about time.
-Having time to finally scrapbook: yep, I'm caught up to 2007, aren't you proud of me!

Oh, the list could go on and on. No, being a full-time stay at home mommy isn't all roses. But it's close. With the right perspective that is.

"What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and work flow." Martin Luther