I’ve
never been much of a homebody. Wait. That’s a lie. Most of my hobbies are of
the indoor type: crafting, cooking, songwriting, sleeping. But I’ve never been
the type of person who would choose a career in what I will affectionately call
the domestic arts.
Let’s take a look at
my life five years ago:
I’m a college student
by day, bartender by night. I live in a crappy apartment with my musician
boyfriend. Most of our money is spent on local microbrews. I exercise by
coaching an archery team and walking to my classes at Hills and Stairs University--also
known as Humboldt State University and notorious for having more stairs than
students. In school, I dissect animals and prep cadavers. I identify single
nucleotide polymorphisms in the molecular biology club and rearticulate
skeletons in the Vertebrate Museum (at this point having no idea that I will
eventually become a high school science teacher and tell stories to a classroom
full of horrified teenaged faces about using freshly de-fleshed chipmunk skins
as finger puppets). I don’t make my bed in the morning or hang up my towel
after showering. My idea of cooking is heating up a frozen pizza. I’ve killed
every plant that has ever been entrusted to my care.
Fast-forward to
present:
I am a homemaker and stay-at-home mom. I have a beautiful little daughter and a handsome partner, with whom I own a gorgeous home on a mountain
in southern Washington. I have two brown dogs and some fish. I cook, I clean, I
play peek-a-boo and fetch. ALL DAY LONG. There are a lot of days when I don’t even leave the house. I
love my life, but sometimes I feel like I’m going stir-crazy.
So
I have decided to keep a blog documenting my transition from busybody to
homebody. Ok, I’m being generous by calling this my “transitional” period. My
baby is nearing her first birthday and I have not earned a paycheck in six
months. But I’ve finally passed the initial shock that overwhelmed me when in a
matter of months I became responsible for an entire other life and an entire
house. Now I am able to step back and reflect on how much I am enjoying the
life I’m living, even if it is wildly different than the one I always thought
I’d have!
