When I was working full-time, there were days when the pace was nothing short of insane. Some days were fairly easy, but there were frenetic days when it seemed like I never even stopped to go to the bathroom. (Now, of course, when I do get a chance to go to the bathroom, I am accompanied by a four year old and a sixteen month old. But that's a whole different story, yes?) At home, it's different. While I am still busy and working hard, I have a different feeling about the work that I am doing. No matter how much I enjoyed and cared for the people in the office, they were not my flesh and blood, carried nine months inside my body, born out of the pains and struggles of labor, and whose souls and lives are one of my absolute top priorities. The work that I do at home is mostly done for my family ... my husband, myself, and our two children. I also enjoy baking meals and doing things for other people, but the everyday chores and tasks that keep me busy are focused on our family's sustainability and comfort. Even when I venture into the realm of hobby or personal interest, I find myself drawn into things that I believe will either enhance our lives or make our home more beautiful and homey.
Sewing has become a great creative outlet for me. Baking and cooking have always been there, but now I find that I have the time to try things that I wouldn't have taken the time to try when I was working full time and trying to squeeze out some meager portion of time with the kids before we all fell into bed and started the race again the next morning. My newest foray into the realm of time-investment baking is bread making. I have two bread books, both of which are meant to take a total beginner all the way into the mathematics and art of baking lovely bread. Tonight, I am making my first attempt, but we won't know how it turns out until tomorrow morning. Because of time constraints (due to the fact that I forgot to knead my dough earlier in the process and had to go back, knead, and re-start the rising process) the final rising stage will be done in the fridge tonight and I'll bake the loaves in the morning. Hopefully, they will turn out well. One thing is for sure -- the dough smells wonderful, and it hasn't even been baked yet.
I'm baking this bread. No, it's not from either of my new books. I've started reading but am not yet to the point of actually making any of the formulas (recipes) from my book or this one that I bought as a back-up reference.
What else is going on? The yard beautification continues, as does the planting. I'm working up a container garden on my back courtyard. And as it seems to happen lately, I have spent a couple of days trying to think of how I am going to make some little signs for my herbs, jalapenos, blueberries, and okra, and stumbled upon this tutorial. Yes, folks, I will be making my very own garden markers this week.
The funny thing is that my multi-tasking hasn't stopped. Honestly, if anything, it has blossomed. While waiting for my dough to rise so that I could then form the two loaves, Evelyn and I went outside and planted nine okra plants, two jalapeno plants, a pot of mint, and two purple balloon flowers. The timer was going off to remind me to check the dough just as I was dropping the last two plants into their new pots. Pretty good time management, huh?
I'll post pictures of the patio garden later this week. It was way too dark to take any pictures by the time I finished up outside, cleaned up, and got my bread dough into the fridge.
So that's it for tonight. It has been so rewarding to be able to apply myself and my abilities and see them benefitting my family. Every day I feel the honor of being the one whose responsibility it is to make our home a warm, inviting, and peaceful place so that my husband's hard work can be rewarded with a lovely place to relax and enjoy the kids when he unplugs. Evelyn and Gunnar notice the little things, and that just makes it all worth while. This has been a long time coming, and I wasn't totally sure that I would make a very good stay-at-home Mommy, but it's like I have fallen into the role I was meant to have all along. Even though I enjoyed working and felt great satisfaction in a job well done and in the collaboration with some of the greatest people I've even met, being the one who gets to take care of my children every day is an incredible privilege and a hysterically funny adventure. Now, I am the one who gets to see my toddler trying new things for the first time. I get to watch his face and see the wonder and amazement and joy when he figures out something new. What a blast...
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