Starting again

The nice thing about being a homemaker is that if you've been slipping on the job lately, you can always declare a start point and renew your efforts.

The cold is beginning to recede. I'm out of the nasal-congestion stage and into the coughing stage. My energy has perked up a little, and I'll be able to get some real cleaning done. It's the benefit of an increasingly organized house that the 'damage' isn't too bad. I'll be able to make actual progress in cleaning pretty quickly. I also have a lot of organizational things to do.

Our favorite of the local agricultural fairs is happening this coming weekend. I need to budget the money we can spend there. It's a rare 'splurge time' for us, in which we bring a certain amount of carefully-budgeted money and then just spend like maniacs until it's gone. Well, my way of spending like a maniac is to find the things I like best, figure out how I can afford as many of my favorites of them as possible, and then buying. I buy things like jewelry, scarves, india dresses, sheepskin slippers, specially-colored wax candles, and similar with my allowed money. I'll also get ride tickets and 'german fries' and perhaps a bag of tiny fresh donuts. My husband is not overly enthused about all these little fair things and has the habit of spending his share of the money on me. I think that's really sweet and he's an awesome guy!

The woman exalted in Proverbs 31 is known for some of her work in the marketplace, and I will not be much different this fall. I've been offered an adjunct teaching position at the community college, a single three-credit course. I've taken it, and I start this Saturday. Attitudes differ about homemakers working part-time. I think each family will have it's own profile that will change as the family changes. My mother did not work at all when she had four children all in school age (except when she had to that one time, but that's a whole story in itself!). But now, with one in highschool and one in elementary school, she works part-time at the local post office. With one child starting homeschooling this fall, I've decided that a part-time job that requires me to be gone Saturday mornings, with the rest of the work done at home, is by no means overly intrusive.