Domestic Contributions

I am learning to love domesticity. Preparing healthy meals from scratch in my kitchen with a baby on my hip... this is the life. This is where I am meant to be, serving God by serving my family. I forget who said it, but there's a quote something along the lines of a woman finding herself only by giving of herself. I am trying to focus more on thanking God for the simple household moments... Baking cookies. Hanging laundry out in the sun. Washing the dishes. Reading to Caroline while nursing the baby.

My mom asked me if I'd help out in preparing for my brother's wedding by baking some breads for a family brunch to be held the morning of the wedding. Since baking is one of my favorite domestic ways of serving others, I was quite happy to do this. And what a great time of year... I chose cranberry bread, pumpkin bread, and apple bread (recipes to be added eventually). By simply baking healthy, homemade breads, I can personally contribute to a special celebration... and I can include Caroline as well.

She helped me out as she desired... measuring the flour for both the cranberry and pumpkin breads. I am slowly growing in patience here; I am really working at it. I am past being concerned about the flour she spills on the floor or the fact that she always wants to taste the Sucanat or the honey... this morning, I was a bit stressed with preparing the last loaf while also packing so we could leave for the wedding rehearsal right after lunch (we were only 15 minutes late - whoohoo!). I failed in my attempts at patience with a three year old who inhaled cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in an attempt to smell them, resulting in stinging and crying which disturbed the falling-asleep baby on my back. I apologized for getting angry and we moved on. I want to make the domestic chores we do together to be pleasant times for enjoying simple tasks together. Mother gathering ingredients, daughter measuring and stirring, baby looking on alertly. The spilled flour and other imperfections are just minor bumps adding interest... just a part of the beauty of life. In the actual moment, I resolve to try to remember this.