It was maybe a year ago when I stumbled upon a channel that was recommended to me on YouTube called Mrs. Midwest, which I later found out is also a blog written by Caitlin Huber. She creates content about female-related topics, especially centering around femininity and traditional living.
I’ve never been super normal, honestly. Growing up, I was usually the most sheltered kid in the room. I took pride in my extremity when I would be the last one standing during a game of Never Have I Ever. I haven’t been super popular for my Christian beliefs and not everybody I knew thought I was awesome for being obedient to the way that I sensed God leading me in life.
That said, I don’t worry too much about living a life that makes sense to other people. Rather, these days I place great importance in firstly being obedient to God, being on the same page with my husband, and living a life I can truly be at peace with and proud of.
Last year especially, I spent time preparing for marriage. In my mind, that looked like learning kitchen-related skills, practicing good budgeting, frugality, and living with less. Areas of “home living” that I already felt like I could do fairly well were cleaning and doing laundry. I followed people like Lisa Bass from farmhouseonboone.com, Jill Winger from theprairiehomestead.com, Caitlin Huber from mrsmidwest.com, and a few others to gain more information on how I could become the hospitable and somewhat old-fashioned wife that I had always wanted to be.
Through the process of researching on how other women lived their lives centered around marriage and spending a lot of time working around their homes, it seems I have fallen in love with keeping my space clean, cooking delicious meals, learning about being a better hostess, and just enjoying the space that I am in.
That said, I guess this is me just here to state some facts for you:
- I would rather be at home. Whether it be cooking in my kitchen, cleaning, or organizing….trust me, I would rather be at home. I love having a place to create and keep clean. Yes, you can come over without warning. I’m ready for you and I might have homemade snacks!
- I understand why homemakers and housewives do what they do now. Up until recently, I have lived with my parents (with the exception of a couple internships and my college roommates). Living in a home that I am renting with my husband has given me a sense of purpose and responsibility. Though we do not own the home, we treat it with a sense of ownership. I can see why women want to spend time tending to their home, up keeping things, and just generally maintaining order. It’s something we can be passionate about and it is not inherently a “lazy” thing to do in lieu of a career. Now, for me, it truly wouldn’t make sense for a variety of reasons that are just a post for another day, I guess. But I find the calling admirable.
- I didn’t realize that living in my own place with my husband would truly awaken my love for caring for my space. I have a lot of new routines I wouldn’t have implemented necessarily while I was living with my parents. It wasn’t that I didn’t respect the house or my parents, but the feeling is certainly elevated knowing that there is definitely no one else who will pick up after you. This is me, here’s my husband, and here’s our home. It’s a reflection of who we are, our extraordinary life together, and all of our favorite things.
Interestingly enough, as I have stated multiple times, I truly have no desire to have children, so it doesn’t look like any type of homemaker role is in my future, but man, it does seem like such a simple, and wonderful way to be. Minus the children.
Seriously. Ain’t nobody got the time.
SARAH HARPER 