The beginning

It all started with fig jam. Well, I suppose that it started before the fig jam, but that was really the turning point. Although it feels somewhat self-indulgent, let's back up and start with a bit of history.

A little over two years ago in an amazing little twist of fate, I met the man who is now my life partner, best friend and the father of my child. We met during a pit stop on the Ride to Conquer Cancer, a 2-day, 262 km charity bike ride from Vancouver to Seattle. At the 90 km mark of the first day, I got off my bike at a pit stop, grabbed some lunch and sat down next to a lovely lake. I looked to my left and was struck with the bright blue eyes of this beautiful man. At that time, I was in the early days of a divorce and he and I continued a friendship over the course of the next year while we both sorted through personal issues. In August 2010, we decided to be together and were blessed with our little surprise miracle baby about 3 days later. I gave birth to Henry Douglas on April 29, 2011.

When Henry was born, I had been working as an Occupational Therapist for almost 7 years, self-employed for the past 4 years, primarily focusing on working with chronic pain clients. It was not uncommon for me to work 50 - 70 hours per week, I had my phone on 24 hours a day and had not taken a real vacation in about 2 years. I didn't know how to not work. When Henry came along, I got that much-needed break from work, and discovered a whole different kind of occupation. It's taken me about 4 1/2 months to get my feet under me, but I am now a reformed work-a-day woman and a happy housewife. I spend my days planning healthy, gourmet meals, picking fruit from our trees, planning my garden for next year, knitting, and most importantly caring for my child. I run and ride my road bike about 4 times per week. I used to spend my energy dealing with frustrated and angry adults, and now I get to put all of my energy into caring for, feeding and growing my family. I grew up in a society still fresh from the Feminist movement, during a time where housewife was a dirty word and a homemaker was perceived as an uneducated woman who didn't have any choices other than the menial daily tasks of childcare, cooking, cleaning, etc. I have discovered that being that housewife is the most rewarding thing I can imagine. I get to be a gourmet cook, to focus on local, healthy food and create amazing recipes. I get to create homemade toys and clothes. I can still be an athlete, a social butterfly and a wholly fulfilled person. I can use my university education to provide amazing care for my family by applying the skills and tools that I gained during that experience to everday life. I taught myself how to make jam and jar it yesterday. I ate it on my toast this morning and it was amazing.

That was the beginning of my housewife renaissance. I've created this blog with the aim to share recipes and patterns, to discuss how to balance being a housewife while maintaining independent interests, to communicate funny stories from my new role as a mother and just generally to share the journey. I hope that attitudes continue to change to respect the amount of time and energy that goes into raising children, specifically in devoting yourself to feeding them healthy food, providing a loving environment that encourages growth and ultimately provides them with the tools to become amazing people.