home·mak·er
/ˈhō(m)ˌmākər/
Noun
1. a person who spends their time looking after a home and doing housework rather than being employed outside the home (typically applied to a woman).

Many years ago, I started this blog. Originally it was called “Lets Gab About It”, but after we purchased our first home, had our first baby, and had DIY projects coming out our ears, I changed the name to match my season of life.

Honestly? I actually felt a little imposter syndrome using “homemaker” in my blog name- in my mind “homemaker” ~ “homesteader”. Let me tell you something: I have no interest in owning a chicken (okay half true with the price of eggs lately 😆) I’ve never made sourdough. I’m not super crunchy. I’m learning to be a plant mom, but I am not a gardener. Having a bunch of land isn’t on my bucket list. A quick scroll through #homemaker on Instagram yields a lot of things that aren’t super relatable to me. Don’t get me wrong here- I have the utmost RESPECT for homesteaders. They embody and a rhythm and calm I can only dream of. It’s just… not me.

So where did I fit, exactly? Because at the end of the day… I am still a homemaker. I’m a stay at home mom. I homeschool my kids (mostly, anyway- we go through a charter). I clean, I cook. I work hard to make my house a home that is welcoming to neighbors and friends and conducive to our family.

Several years have passed, and I finally realized that I was putting emphasis on the wrong word.

It’s true. I’m not a traditional homemaker. I am, in fact, a modern homemaker. My kids eat chicken nuggets more than I care to admit. Despite my best efforts, our schedule is often erratic. I diffuse oils but a lot of the time still can’t resist lighting a cozy candle (on my white quartz countertops- because I also find joy in keeping up with trends- both in home and in personal style). I frequently fall behind on household chores and I have a lot of non-aesthetically pleasing toys exploding from the playroom. I can’t tell you the last time I finished a book. I keep trying. I do a lot of things in a different way that makes sense for me and for my family in a really good way.

That’s just the tip of the ice burg that is my modern homemaker-hood. Yours may look similar, or maybe it’s totally different than either of the two I just described. I LOVE that for you. My hope is that I’m the only one that felt like maybe I wasn’t doing it right. I suspect I’m not, though. So here’s your reminder that you’re doing great and it’s okay to for you to modernize what it means to be a homemaker.

Welcome to 2023, where being a homemaker can mean so many different things. Here’s to you, work from home mom. And to you, the mom that works outside the home and still wears all the hats. And to you, that thrives on tradition and slow days. And to me and so many others like me that don’t quite fit in any category. Here’s to the work that is seen but also the work that is unseen. The day in and day out, 24/7. I see you. ❤️