Anyone who knows me well knows how I feel about the
education of my daughters. I think that in general the art of homemaking is becoming lost. Lost in all the hustle and bustle of life, lost in the world’s idea of an ideal woman, lost to the rat race. I am making an effort to make sure my daughters are educated two fold. I want them to have all the book knowledge they can, but at the same time understanding that book smarts aren’t everything. I want my daughters to be skilled in the art of making a home, with all the little things that go into that.
I think that it is really sad that domestic arts are lost. How many people still garden and can? Sew? Cook? I am sort of a dreamer and I dream about a slower time, where life was simpler, where woman quilted together, instead of waving at each other as they drove by each other, running to the next appointment or class. I dream of late nights on a front porch talking instead of everybody in their own house watching American Idol. Of kids riding bikes and running through sprinklers, instead of being carted off to the next class or lesson.
Anyway, I didn’t mean to ramble, but I want to illustrate how important the small and simple things are. This summer we are cutting back, way back, not only with our finances, but with our commitments. I am working very hard at making simple small memories. When my girls are old and they are remembering their childhood are they going to have fond memories of two weeks of grueling dance camp, or are they going to remember making daisy chains and having picnics? Are they going to remember going to the latest and greatest water parks, or are they going to remember the afternoon spent with our feet in the cold wading pool because the power was out and we were without air conditioning? Are they going to remember the Children’s Museum or are they going to remember planting and harvesting their own veggie patch?
Not that those activities aren’t good and fun, I think sometimes we get caught up in the idea that thing have to be dazzling and amazing for our kids to have wonderful memories. That isn’t true, sometimes the simplest things make the greatest impact. When you are quietly chatting with your 4 year old while she is using her fat finger to push bean seeds into the ground, that makes memories and builds relationships. Sitting in the cool house teaching your 8 year old how to embroider and she talks to you about what is going on in her head and how she feels about life, that is what establishes open communication. When the whole family is sitting with their feet in the cold water of the wading pool, because the power is out and the house is about 85 degrees, talking, and laughing, that is what binds families together.
(This is the napkin that Punk #2 is working on)
Wow, I really got off subject. I wanted to talk about teaching my girls some of the domestic arts. One of our projects this summer it to learn how to to stitchery. The three oldest have small projects. We are stitching around the hem of cloth napkins. One is loving it more that the other, and that is ok, at least they will have the basic skill down! It had been a fun project that we have all be enjoying together.
Then one the sprite is all poured in you top it with fresh berries, I like black berries and raspberries, but whatever makes you happy would work.
