How it Began

On the evening of the Senior Awards Banquet, my mom and I sat together in the gymnasium bleachers to watch my cousin Jeremy receive some award, I don’t remember what.  I was a junior, one year younger, and was interested in what types of awards I might be eligible for a year later.  There were pins given for the top grade in each class subject.  After Travis Brawner, a handsome guy who was the star kicker of the football team and a pretty good pole vaulter, received his third or forth pin in home economics, I turned to share my surprise with mom.  She grinned at me and said, “You should marry that boy, Fawn.  He is better at the domestic stuff than you are!”

Flash forward 15 years.  Travis is now an ENT doctor, so he probably spends more time sewing stitches into people than pillows, but he’s also probably still better at the domestic stuff than I am.  I’ve often said that I am a pretty darn good mom, but a really lousy homemaker.  Luckily, I managed to pick out a really awesome husband (the second time around, anyway) who is great at doing a whirlwind housecleaning when the need arises. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a slob, but it’s those every day chores that really get me in a pickle mood. This mood was proving to be contagious, as my husband was getting weary and lethargic from doing the chores. This was a clear indication that we had to hire a bond cleaning service in Perth if we were to keep the house from turning into a garbage dump. Repeated loads of laundry and dishes, vacuuming, dusting, mopping, etc…all while being followed closely behind by two toddlers who can undo, unfold, mess up, and spill out faster than I ever imagined.

I like projects.  I like to check things off my list.  I like to see the fruits of my labor.  Being a stay at home mom is the hardest job I’ve ever had, hands down, partially because you don’t get any of that.  I honestly can’t remember if my preconceptions were wrong, or if I just didn’t give it much thought before I decided to stay home.  I do know that I decided to stay home for my kids, not for my house. Either way, I am admittedly one of those moms who often finds herself being smacked in the face repeatedly by the realities of what stay at home motherhood really is.  I still would not change my choice, but if I knew then what I know now. . .well, who knows? Maybe nothing would have changed anyway.

My children, homewreckers that they are, still top the list of my passions, along with afore mentioned hubby.  Right underneath those are projects that help others and make a difference, writing, travel, staying in shape, and learning about new things.  Barring personality-changing head injury or hormone injections, you will likely never see decorating, cooking, shopping, or crafting on my list of priorities. Not to say that I don’t admire those pursuits.  I once was a loyal subscriber to Martha Stewart Living magazine.  I have wonderful friends that are gifted chefs, visionary interior decorators, and enthusiastic shopaholics. But, somewhere along the line, I have become the antithesis of all that.  If you want to offend me, call me a soccer mom or a play date princess.  I don’t fit the stereotype of the stay at home mom, and as I meet more and more stay at home moms, I’m finding that there aren’t many of us who do.

So, that is what this blog is all about.  Sharing what I have learned and what I am learning as I skip, stumble, jump, trip, prance, and plod through this life’s adventure called mother-wife-homemaker-womanhood.  I hope you will take something useful from it, and share your thoughts with me, too!

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