Homemaking: Your Job Part 2

I've worked myself out of a job.

On October 6, 2009 I wrote a post called "Tightwad Tuesday Tip - the Second Income"

In that post I wrote:

Your job is to manage your home. If you do it correctly it will take up most of the day while your children are at school.

Today, that is no longer the case. 

• I don't spend HOURS and HOURS in the kitchen like I used to when I made homemade pasta, breads, snacks, etc. 
• I've simplified what we eat so it doesn't take me an hour to create a menu plan.
• I have routines in place (thanks to Flylady) so my house seems to clean it self. Nope, it's never perfect, but it's usually presentable (disregard the dirty socks on my kitchen island please.)
• I've changed my standards...just because I'm home all day long doesn't mean that my home needs to be spotless.

Previously, I believed that I had to work constantly in my home in order to prove that I had value as a homemaker. It's a common theme in the world today...the busier you are, the more productive you are, the more value you add to the world.

I disagree.

Yesterday I read a blog post over at JenniferDawnMcLucas.com where she wrote:

"...without him I might forget that my life is about my relationships first and my responsibilities second."

How do you add value to the world?


Relationships

I can choose to shovel my elderly neighbor's driveway or work on my blog. I can choose to chat with the man who is fixing my car or I can choose to put my nose in a book. I can choose to chat with the lady at the park or keep walking by.

I'll be the first to admit that I often make the wrong choice. Or if I make the right choice I do it with resentment.

Today I choose to spend time writing in my eBook, researching health issues, going for long walks by myself, etc. Tomorrow I hope to engage people in conversations. Enjoy life WITH people in real life and get out of my home.

Being a homemaker is just a small part of what I DO. It does not define who I am. No job should define you. It may be how you occupy your time, but it doesn't define who you are.

Image Credit: Flickr by o5com