Looking Forward to Being Home

I love cooking and cleaning and meal planning and budgeting and the whole shebang. I think I was made for it (wait. . . I WAS made for it!) I'm sure, once I'm doing it full-time, there will be moments when I'll miss the peace and quiet of the work world, when the kitchen sink is the last place on earth I want to be and when I won't care whether we're eating a balanced meal or not. But, I have faith that those will be fleeting moments.

I have always loved home economics. I got my first cookbook for Christmas when I was 6. I still remember the "gourmet" recipe for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. My grandma taught me to knead yeast bread, make pie crusts and simmer homemade spaghetti sauce for days. My mom taught me the art of stirring cookie dough by hand for a perfect soft/crispy combo and frying taco shells to perfection.

When I was about 7 or 8, I begged my friend's mom to give the two of us sewing lessons. She was a skilled seamstress and I was dying to learn. I have happy memories of the "sewing camp" she put on for us. I learned all about the basics of sewing and although the dress I made was quite a sight to see (a turqoise cotton jumper spotted with bright colored bubbles), I proudly wore it everywhere the rest of that summer.

In high school, I probably spent 3 out of 4 weekends babysitting. Several of my employers were "relaxed" housekeepers. I loved babysitting for those families because as soon as the mom and dad were out of the driveway, I would convince the kids that we were going to give their parents the best surprise ever. . . a clean house. We would race around putting away toys, cleaning bathrooms, washing up dirty dishes, and vacuuming. The kids were never disappointed by the surprise look on their parents' faces (assuming they were still awake when their parents arrived home). It was a spectacular sucess every single time.

Now I'm 28 and only a few weeks away from getting to start my life as a full-time homemaker. It took God a long time to get me here. There were several years when I wondered if all this household zeal was for naught. If I was destined to keep house and cook for one, for the rest of my life (some of you are still there. . . don't give up hope!) Thankfully, just when I was certain it was time to readjust my dreams, God brought along Josh. One minute there wasn't a glimmer of hope and the next minute I was Mrs. R. checking in for my first prenatal visit. Wow! When God decided to get the ball rolling, He gave it a big shove!

I am not planning or even hoping to get everything perfect. I'm totally comfortable feeding my ever-happy husband canned chili and boxed brownies. I don't like to iron. My shoe rack is a mess, there is dust on my ceiling fans, and I have weeds in my garden. That's life and I'm completely fine with life being less than perfect. But, I am really excited to take off this "career girl" hat and put on my apron.

I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to being home!