Hausfrau Hootenanny

The Hausfrau Waxes Philosophical

"Mommy, what are you doing?!" the girls asked when they saw me toiling over the ironing board a few months ago. "What is that thing?"

(Clearly they've never played Monopoly either.)

Lately we've been reading the All of a Kind Family books. Set in New York's Lower East Side in the early part of the last century, these books center around the adventures and misadventures of a close-knit Jewish family with five daughters.

In one chapter, entitled "Dusting Is Fun," Mama entices the girls to enjoy their turn dusting the front room by hiding colorful buttons.

We had trouble getting through this chapter because the girls kept asking, "What's 'dusting'?"

Eva tried to explain it to Jane which was hard because she had no idea what she was talking about.

Eva described something that sounded kind of like dusting, but then I realized she was talking about mopping (also something we hardly ever do around here) or sweeping (which until recently both girls called "brooming.")

No, I don't want them to grow up to be mini hausfraus, but on the other hand, it sure is nice to be able to sew on a button yourself rather than be charged $8 at the dry cleaners or to live in a house without a flock of dust bunnies living under the couch.

There must be a happy medium here somewhere.

I think the problem is that I hate to clean, and I'm bad at it. My housecleaning attempts are desultory and disorganized.

I'm struggling to keep up with dirty toilets and sinks full of sticky dishes. I'm in no mood to lovingly sit down and teach my daughters the secret art of stain removal or how to knit.

Eva has taken an interest in cooking. She made dinner for Jane and herself last night (peanut butter and jelly on sourdough English muffins, apple slices, and string cheese with milk to drink.) This could be a good "way in" to teaching her about cleaning.

I remember thinking horseback lessons would be all about jumping on a horse and riding. Nope. It was HOURS of how to mop and sweep and move hay around with pitchforks and brush and comb and muck FIRST before they let you within ten feet of a horse. It was still fun so maybe cooking will be the same way even if I teach Eva to wash dishes first.

To be continued...

Drowning in dust? Take a moment between sneezing fits and send the Hausfrau your housekeeping questions. All answers meticulously researched by Google, Wikipedia, and St Martha.