I was called up by BBC Coventry & Warwickshire last to take part in a phone chat about the role of the Domestic Goddess and whether or not that role is dead.
I was on the call with the gorgeous Lynsey LeKeux from
LeKeux Events and we were both being asked if we considered ourselves as Domestic Goddesses and whether we thought the role was indeed dead. Clearly not! The question really is more about balance and choice than about skill or ability when it comes to Domestic Goddess activities and an accurate understanding of it. (Think confident and capable siren, not tired housewife chained to the kitchen sink!!)
A very dear friend of mine once said to me that although people may complain a bit about their lot, we are usually able to find enough time in the day to do the things we
want to do. The choice to cook, clean, sew, bake and make jam (or candles in vintage tea cups!) has to come from a decision that suits the individual circumstances we find ourselves in. We can't compare our worlds to those of other women, even when they look the same. Our circumstances and situations are unique to us and so any decision we make has to be one that works. If it works for you to 'farm out' all your domestic duties and you can comfortable afford to, then go right ahead!
Having said that, I do know of people who have effectively run away from some of these responsibilities by burying themselves in work.
If however you want to build certain principles and values into your world and your family through some Domestic Goddess-ness activities, then do it! Things have to come back to principles and values that under gird your decisions not the practical 1/10th of those decisions. You don't 'lose out' by not being Superwoman you know. As long as you know how to love and care for your immediate spheres of influence and are doing it then it shouldn't matter what shapes some things take. Bottom line, we cannot do it 'all' (whatever 'all' is supposed to look like!) so know the foundations your visible 1/10th is built upon and be confident in your choices; you should never have to justify your world if you know you've built it justly, ethically and sustainably.
If the spinning plates are beginning to drop then maybe you need to revisit what
balance should look like in your world! You are most probably your own harshest critic so lighten up on yourself, make changes as and when you need to to re-dress the balance, just don't live a lie. Only you know if your world works; what anxieties you carry and what masks you wear. I know it's a terrible cliche, but the richest man on the Earth is the man who is at peace with himself. Are you?
x
