Keeper of the Home

My mother taught me (by word and example) that anything worth doing is worth doing right. You can be whatever you choose to be in life, she would tell us, but "whatever you are, be good at it." When creating something, "make it handmade, not homemade" (meaning make it better than the standard, not inferior). It was not until college that I started realizing just how rare my upbringing had been:
I could cook--and not just simple things, but foods that people actually wanted to eat.
I could make bread, or crepes, or beef stew or brownies--all from scratch.
I could sew--not just pillows or baby blankets--but clothing that even led people to say "oh, you made that?!"
I knew how to mend.
I knew how to do laundry without shrinking anything or dying anything pink.
I knew how to get stains out of clothing and off of tile.
I knew how to prioritize my day, work before play, and get everything done.
I knew how to change a baby's diaper--even a cloth one with pins.
I knew how to stay calm when the baby was not calm, and how to rock him and walk with him for as long as it took.

I was reminded of all these things this week when Hubby came up behind me as I was doing dishes, and commented that he is very lucky, because I am not just content to cook meals for the family, but I take the time to learn to cook them really well, and to learn new recipes. My initial thought was, Really? Is that so rare? Of course I'm always trying to learn more and be better at what I do. This is my life, how could I be content with mediocrity?
Then I realized that this is due in great part to my mother, for teaching me that whatever I am going to be, I should be a good one. I have chosen to be a wife, a mother, and the keeper of a home...so I strive to do these things well. Of course I'm not perfect, I have days--even weeks--when I feel that I'm not very good at what I do. BUT, in the bigger picture, I do not accept mediocrity from myself. Ever. I am always reading books on parenting or marriage, trying out new recipes, or coming up with new schedules and goals for myself.

It's not about being a perfectionist, not really. It's about magnifying the life calling that I have, and always trying a little harder to be a little better.

So thank you Mom (and her Mom),
for teaching your daughters to be keepers at home,
for being an awesome example of how to be one,
and for teaching me how to never stop improving at it.