It has been a very interesting couple of weeks. The new year frequently brings new opportunities to improve ourselves, but this journey started accidentally, not as a result of a new year's resolution, and it has been a very eye opening experience.
As women (this is Kristen writing, of course) we have a solemn duty. I may step on some self styled feminist toes, but I don't mean this offensively, apply this to anyone involved in providing for the family and it still holds true. But as a woman, I believe it is my role to provide my family with a comfortable home to live in.
What do I mean by a comfortable home? Not just a place to hang their coats and sleep in at the end of the day but an honest to goodness
home. How does a homemaker accomplish this?
I believe that all women are homemakers, regardless of whether they work outside of the home, like myself, or not. Working outside of the home just makes the time that one is home that much more important to create a welcoming home environment.
1. The home should be a place of peace and rest, a refuge in the storm for the members of the family. That means that, as much as is possible, arguing should be kept to a minimum, nagging should be banished, and the home should be kept as clean and safe as possible. Can you enlist other family members to help you with this, yes! But the responsibility falls on the homemaker to facilitate this peace and refuge.
2. The home should be a place of refreshment and rejuvenation. This is the lesson that I have been learning in overtime lately. Some good friends of ours have recently converted their diet to entirely whole foods, and they have been very helpful in sharing their journey with us. As a result of that sharing, Alex and I have started to move our diet more towards whole foods.
How does that tie into the refreshment and rejuvenation? I have started to read labels on some of our commonly commercially purchased products. Like bread, for instance. Have you ever tasted real bread? Honest to goodness 100% whole wheat bread has four ingredients. I challenge you to find a store prepared bread with only four ingredients. For that matter,I challenge you to find a store prepared bread with four ingredients that you can identify! We have started to bake our own bread products from whole wheat flour that we grind at home. Does it take more time? YES! But I know exactly what it is that I am asking my husband to put into his body, and I know that it is healthful. W ant to test this theory out for yourself? Take the milk comparison, one of the most dramatic that I have noticed so far. Purchase a half gallon of regular milk at walmart, and then move a few refrigerator cases over and purchase a half gallon of organic milk. I recommend Stoneyfield Farms or Horizon Brand. Take both the regular and organic milk home and take a taste test. I bet you will find the organic milk tastes much different, and in a good way! And the difference in price is not so dramatic that it is unreasonable to use organic milk if you choose.
I don't mean to be preachy. I truly don't. But I feel a solemn responsibility now, to provide my family with foods that I know are free of chemical additives, pesticides, and animal growth hormones. If nothing else, I can rest easily knowing that my family isn't ingesting a large amount of chemicals that will linger in their bodies and potentially cause them to have health problems in the future. I will be held responsible for it, I believe, because I know that these things exist, and if I decided to turn my head and ignore it I would be wrong because I have a conviction of this.
Is it more expensive? Yes, but with careful meal planning and self control, we have been able to get everything that we need and then some for only $60 a week, and that includes meats and household products. Before, we were spending far more than that. You can do it too, if you like, with some careful planning and shopping.
Ok, I am stepping down from my soapbox, but I hope to bring you some exciting discoveries as we continue our journey.
