Kathiana, our au pair, leaves on the 27th of September, after which I will be the only woman in the house. \u00a0That may not sound like a big deal to most of you, but for me it\u2019s big. \u00a0Really big.<\/p>\n
In the eight years we have lived here, I have never been the only woman living in this house. \u00a0It started with Andy, then Syndi, Jessica, Marnie, Kristen, Becca, Joyce, and now Kathi. \u00a0And that doesn\u2019t count long-term house guests. \u00a0Some of the women were single and others were married. \u00a0Three women have gotten pregnant while calling this place home, four have raised children here, two have brought their babies home here, and one found out she was unable to conceive while living here. \u00a0Three women left here on dates with men they didn\u2019t end up marrying, one of whom saw too much of me when I was nursing Ezra. \u00a0(I still maintain that the lack of marriage was not related to the exposure.) All of those women have loved on my babies in ways to numerous to count.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a whole lotta womanhood in one house over eight years. \u00a0And I have loved every minute of it. \u00a0I love cooking with other women, sharing wifely duties with other women (not all wifely duties, of course), and staying up late to talk about babies, and dates, and husbands, and God, and life. \u00a0I love throwing in a few whites into some other woman\u2019s load of laundry and pitching in to make another woman\u2019s dinner party special. \u00a0I love getting cooking advice and counsel that I need to be more respectful to Jeff.<\/p>\n
I love having housemates, especially other women.<\/p>\n
I was reminded of this tonight as I was at my friend Helen\u2019s house. \u00a0We were preparing dinner for our kids as they played across the street at Kathy\u2019s house. \u00a0Kathy is in Hawaii, but our kids were playing in her pool. \u00a0Helen and I were also cleaning out Kathy\u2019s freezer, which had crossed over to the other side and was full of melted ice cream and quickly thawing meat. \u00a0Celeste came over with one of her kids. \u00a0We all ate dinner together, and the kids went back to play outside while the women cleaned up.<\/p>\n
Dinner. \u00a0Raising kids. \u00a0Managing the chaos of a house. \u00a0It\u2019s all easier, better, and more fun with other women.<\/p>\n
None of this is to say that I don\u2019t need a man, specifically my husband. \u00a0I\u2019ll be sad when Kathi leaves; I would be crushed if Jeff left. \u00a0My boys will be sad when Kathi leaves; they would be lost with their father.<\/p>\n
So, no, I\u2019m not saying things would be better with only women. \u00a0But I am saying that I understand the appeal of extended family living on one big family compound. \u00a0I understand daughters and mothers working side by side while their mates are off doing matish stuff. \u00a0And I hate that women\u2019s lives have gotten so busy that there is little time to share life together.<\/p>\n
I think I\u2019m a better wife and mother when there are other women in the house. \u00a0And not just because I can more fruits and vegetables, which I do. And not just because I\u2019m calmer and kinder when there is a non-familial audience, which I am. \u00a0I think I\u2019m a better wife and mother when there are other women in the house because I\u2019m a happier woman.<\/p>\n
What about you? \u00a0Are you more of a one woman per kitchen kind of house or would you like a few more women around the ranch?<\/p>\n
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Kathiana, our au pair, leaves on the 27th of September, after which I will be the only woman in the house. \u00a0That may not sound like a big deal to most of you, but for me it\u2019s big. \u00a0Really big. In the eight years we have lived here, I have never been the only woman […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":190,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[228,5],"class_list":["post-801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-big-love","tag-homeschool"],"yoast_head":"\n