I got up at 6:30 the other day, and within an hour of rising I had started a loaf of homemade bread, put in a load of laundry, changed the sheets on my bed, and tidied up the house. You see, it's all part of testing my "getting back to the basics" theory. I confess that I was feeling pretty good about myself by 7:30.
I started to imagine people coming into my home, smelling the bread and seeing the crisp linens and thinking, "wow, she's really got it together." They would marvel at my productivity, the beauty of my home, the taste of my food. They would want to be like me, and tell all their friends about me.
Oh wait. That's right. None of this stuff is cool. In fact, my morning was pretty lame by today's standards. Maybe even offensive to some. I mean, I'm a college-educated woman without children, for crying out loud! I should be out there building my career or saving the hungry or something. Who cares if I bake bread and have clean sheets?
Well, I suppose I care. I'm not exactly sure why. Lame or not, I still felt good about the morning. Not "I've reached the pinnacle of my personal goals" good, but good nonetheless.
I bring this up because "keeping house" gets a bad rap these days. I mean, normally when you want to accomplish your personal and professional goals, making the bed isn't the recommended place to start. I feel a little silly even bringing it up. But I can't shake the idea that reviving the "household arts" might actually help us modernized women reach those feminist goals we've been nurturing since grade school.
Take me for instance. After the sheets and the bread, I went on to have a very productive "career-building" morning. My domestic start actually gave me some focus and momentum for the rest of the day. So far the theory seems to be true. Only 8-12 more weeks left!
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to take the bread out of the oven.
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