Happy Housewife

Today I played housewife. For all intents and purposes, I suppose that is what I am this summer. I have a part-time job that allows me to work mostly from home, but I'm not making any meaningful income, while my poor husband works 50+ hours a week. So today I strapped on my rubber gloves, pulled the mop out of retirement, and set to work cleaning my house, which somehow went from guest-ready to looking like a tornado hit it in a single week with my parents here (even though they weren't the ones who made the mess!)

I vacuumed, scrubbed counters, found homes for random odds and ends, and did 5 loads of laundry. I picked fresh herbs from my garden for my roast chicken dinner, made sun tea, and served both with salad and watermelon which we ate outside when Marc got home, and then I did all the dishes from dinner while Marc went to bed early.

I don't anticipate giving up my internship or my career plans for a life of scrubbing and cooking, but I admit there is a certain satisfaction in completing housework. It always seems that when we are over stressed and over scheduled, the first thing to go is keeping house, but I really feel a sense of accomplishment today after my hours of cleaning-- and I don't think my husband minded coming home to a clean house and dinner on the table either.

To make sun tea:

My mom has made sun tea in the summer time for as long as I can remember. To make, fill a gallon jar with water and 8 tea bags (she uses Celestial Seasonings Red Berry Zinger, any herbal tea will do-- regular tea might get bitter). Leave the jar in the sun for two hours and then remove the tea bags-- serve over ice.