A Forgotten Career -part 1

Career choices are made available from every corner as a youth comes to the end of high school and faces difficult options. One option that is not even recognized as a career by society is that of a stay-at-home Mom.This one may not be high in monetary rewards but are ones that keep on giving in matters that are of most importance.

A stay-at-home mom is one who has chosen a career that includes touches of numerous vocations and has rewards that most other careers can only begin to give. The challenges and rewards go hand in hand. As I look at the choices I have made, that of staying at home and raising my family, I can say that it has been worth it. To see my children as well adapted adults with families of their own is a reward of eternal value.

Looking back, I knew I had to make a choice when we were married. Was I going to work full time as a teacher or was I going to be a farmer's wife and a homemaker. I chose the latter knowing full well that it would mean living on less, but having time to make our house a home.

You often hear it said, "I'm just at home". I firmly believe that being a housewife and mother is as much a career as teaching or any other job. It's nice to be in touch with my teaching by substitute teaching and know what goes on in our school, but I also have time for my home.

I treasure the memory of coming home from school even in high school and finding my mom was there. The smell of a clean house and supper on the stove accompanied by her loving presence is something I wish every child could know. Nothing was worse than coming home to an empty house. This is what I wanted my children to have as well and I trust I have not failed them.

With so many mothers working full time I feel our community volunteer work suffers as well. How much energy does a person have left after working all day to accompany their child to his or her activity, let alone anyone else in the neighborhood. These are things that can't be measured in dollars and cents. Only eternity will reveal what has been done behind the scenes in many cases.

The career of a stay-at-home mom has many faces; including cook, baker, housekeeper, nurse, counselor, errand boy, accountant, chauffeur and on the farm also the hired hand many times, gardener and chore boy. These many faces are so intertwined that it is hard to separate them into distinct compartments. Oh, yes and don't forge this is a job where you're on duty twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.

As a cook for a growing family the need to grow our own food was not a choice but a necessity. A big garden was just a part of farm life and supplied us with most of the produce we needed; first of all fresh and then for the freezer or pantry shelves for the winter months.

Then there was the milk from the cows, eggs and meat from poultry, or meat from the pigs or cows. This included a lot of work, as chores had to be done twice a day and in return we were assured the healthiest and tastiest foods.