It sure has been a great ride!

I love being at home and I love being a housewife, I've always known it is what I wanted to do when I grew up, well in addition to marrying a great man, having kids and traveling out west.



My days are my own, I set my own hours. I have the freedom to go walking when I want, pulling weeds when I want and tackling a big project when the urge hits me. I can wear my nightgown all day, and oftentimes do. I can lay in the sun with a good book. I don't have to deal with moody coworkers, coworkers don't have to deal with moody-me. I don't HAVE to get out in the blustery cold morning in the wintertime. Don't have to pack my lunch, or take a shower every morning, put make up on or fix my hair. Bill gets a homecooked meal every night, with the table fully set and his plate usually ready. All he has to do is sit down and enjoy it. Friday nights I LOVE because it is "date night" for us. I crack open a bottle of wine and get to cooking, I love trying new recipes and seeing if Bill really likes them, or if he is just being nice. Last night I made bruschetta for the first time, and I can honestly say it was awesome! I need to write that recipe down.

Me, washing my car when I first bought her, August of 1999

Being a housewife comes with sacrifices though. If I want to stay at home, I must be very frugal with our money. That means driving my old-paid-for Acura until the wheels fall off, which is actually my choice because I love my car! No frequent shopping trips to Bath and Body Works or Kohls. No frequent eating out, no fancy house, no fancy new furniture or rugs or curtains, no super nice camper or big truck to pull it with, and the one thing that I would kill to have, I can't, yet. A telephoto lens for my Nikon.

Gage and Pop sleeping in the camper in Myrtle Beach

I am able to watch my nephews so my sis can go to work. I love spending time with them and watching them grow. They amaze me more all the time! Gage is exactly like his Papaw Ross (my Daddy) and it cracks me up. I mean the same features, body build, hair color and interests. It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Gage is my garden helper, he plays in the dirt with his backhoes and dump trucks while I pull weeds and sucker tomatoes. He begs me every day that he is here to "make me some mud Appie" -- Thomas is more of the "inside" type. He loves tv and computers and playing with his action figures. He don't like to get dirty or sweaty. But he gets it from his Mom, he gets it honest.

Gage playing in the mud

He was trying to squirt me with a bottle while wearing my sunglasses, good thing it was empty

Mr Serious, aka Thomas

So I have enjoyed my time as a housewife. I have savored my moments and basked in the joy of a home cooked gourmet meal, I have washed more dishes than I ever cared to, swept the floors more than I ever needed to and made the bed most every morning. Rearranged the rooms, organized most everything, put pictures on the walls, planted billions of flowers and finally figured out a way to have a "guest bedroom/sewing room/nephews playroom". I have enjoyed every single minute. Even when the nephews are going nuts and wrestling each other to the ground, trying to choke each other, jumping on the furniture and asking a million questions. I will miss it terribly when I get a job, I know I will cry and miss them when they aren't coming to my house anymore. My heart will be broken.

But the time comes when your husband must go back to school to work towards the career he wants, and even without any debt, the utilities and groceries cost more than unemployment pay will provide. And it's time to go back to work to ease the financial worry for your husband.

I just hope maybe one day I will have the opportunity to stay home again.