Homemaking 101

The lesson I was to give this week in Young Women's was entitled Homemaking. I don't know why seeing that title made me bristle when that is in fact what I have chosen to do myself. Must be the same feminist in me that bristles when I have to put homemaker down as my title when I file taxes, or the one who wishes that people could see me (and the other hundreds of highly educated women that I know) for the college-educated person that I am and for the "business analyst" that I was, instead of just a mother of two. But again, I have chosen a different path for now. One I know I am lucky to be able to choose.

But how do you teach this topic - especially when the book that you are to teach from is outdated? Well, first you put your feminist pride aside and realize that the book isn't so bad and that the values in it are worth being taught. I never once read anything about not getting an education and instead getting married and having kids right away, about having to stay at home, about being submissive, about having a hot meal on the table and a smile on your face when hubby comes home. What the book taught was about the difference between homemaking and housekeeping, about appreciating what your mother does for you, whether she has a full-time job or "simply" stays at home (4 out of the 5 girls I taught, have mothers who work outside the home) and about finding your talents and magnifying them.

It was the perfect springboard for the things I had to say on the topic - develop skills, get an education (college or trade school), have a hobby, and find a husband that will support your interests and admire your talents. We talked about hopes and dreams and their what their home will be like when they are in charge of a household. Some like to cook, some like to garden, others enjoyed organizing. I don't remember thinking about those things much at their age, but then again I don't think anyone asked. And then again I got married before I had a chance to really think about those things. Marriage wasn't exactly on my radar when it came knocking. Luckily it suits me.

So during our conversation I decided to have a little fun and had the girls shaking something and passing it around. It was in a container and wrapped in a bag so they couldn't see what it was. It was heavy cream and salt. By the end of the class they had made butter. How domestic of them! I made bread that morning - how domestic of me! And together we enjoyed the fruits of homemaking.

Talking Points

As is generally the case when moving into (or out of) a ward, we were asked to speak in church this Sunday*. Most of the time the bishopric has a topic in mind for the meeting. This time we were given free reign. Considering they don't know us that well, that was pretty...surprising, foolish, kind? Armed with a litany of talks from the previous General Conference we searched for inspiration. Ben found his quickly and settled on exploring the virtue of charity - as in giving of what we have to others charity. He had his thoughts arranged and ready to be delivered in a matter of hours. Meanwhile I had worked all week to pull something together and for hours the night before and still had nothing cohesive. I set my alarm for 5am and thought I could use the peace and quiet of the morning (translation - my kids would be asleep) to focus. With a racing mind I couldn't sleep when it came to me - I could give a talk I had given before. I jumped up and searched for a file on the computer that might give me rest. Sure enough, I had two to choose from. I settled on a version of the final talk given in our ward in Maryland - I updated it with a few new quotes, tweaked it here and there and it was good to go.

We gave our talks and after church someone gave the obligatory "thanks for your talk today" compliment. She followed it up with a "as often as you move you should file that one away to give again"

(Smile, laugh)

I'll think about it.


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*Avery gave a talk in Primary last week. Her topic - We are all children of our Heavenly Father. She drew a picture of the Earth, complete with outer-space, she sang "Jesus Loves the Little Children" (you know - the probably politically incorrect - "red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight"), and said a few words about how He wants us to be happy because he made us and that we should be kind to each other. It was a brilliant 45 seconds.

Ward (s)Hopping

Often, one of the saddest things about moving is leaving the ward* family, (aka congregation) (unless you are escaping a calling in the nursery). Such has been the case for us our last two moves especially. Although we are optimistic that we will again "land" in a particularly awesome ward, a perk of being new to an area and not having a permanent home is pretending like we actually have a choice in the matter of deciding which ward we attend (you don't, I tried once). Ward hopping.

We have been doing it for the last few weeks and sensing that the end to this freedom is eminent we made a particularly bold move this Sunday and attended three different wards. I know, you're adding up the commitment in your head and coming up with a whopping nine hours of devoted worship from the Westbrook family. I wish we had the stamina for a Sabbath day marathon like that, but it was Fast Sunday ( I'll let you determine why that would be an impossibly long day, albeit a great opportunity to really get the pulse and flavor of a ward). We did the abbreviated version and went to the three different wards that share a building. One of Ben's favorite jokes when we are introduced as visitors in Sunday School is to say that we just moved to the area and we are shopping for the ward with the least tithing (I could hear all of his jokes a million times and still giggle my head off heehee). So with ammunition like that why not start of our day with Sunday School?!

We actually arrived intending to attend the 11 o'clock services but when we arrived at 11:10 and knowing that Ben refuses to go into the chapel late. I suggested we catch the last hour of the ward we most likely would be attending. And we were right on time for that. After that they dismissed and left the building so we went to Sunday School (in a ward with particularly talented SS teachers - score) and capped off the day with Sacrament Meeting from the third and final ward. Not wanting to disturb the children's play and learning (wink wink), we left them in their primary and nursery classes - with the help of the eagle-eye watch of a friend, should Miles try to betray us with a necessary diaper change - and we attended sans kiddos!

Next week we will be responsible and settle into the ward we are obligated to attend by way of the map and we will do so with a glad spirit. But in the meantime, we enjoyed our visits.

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Definition of Ward (via Wikipedia):
A ward typically consists of 200 to 500 active church members within an area that is within a reasonable travel time of the meetinghouse. ("Reasonable" will vary between countries and regions.) A stake may be organized if there are at least three ward-sized branches in adjacent areas. Once the stake has been organized, the ward-sized branches are organized into wards. If there are not sufficient congregations in an area to form a stake, a district (analogous to but smaller than a stake) is formed to oversee local congregations. In areas where there are greater numbers of active church members (such as Utah), the area of a ward can be as small as one-fourth or one-fifth of a square mile.

When a ward(s) become of a greater size, the ward will divide geographically. Generally, if both geographic divisions are in a reasonable time of the meetinghouse, then they will meet at the same building, but at different times. Most ward buildings are designed to house up to three or four wards.
Individuals can find out what ward they reside in by either talking to a local LDS leader or by using the meetinghouse locator tool on the church's webpage.

Historical Orgin - The term ward originally referred to the political subdivision of some of the municipalities in the Mid-western United States where members of the LDS Church resided, and in particular the political organization of Nauvoo, Illinois in the 1840's. Bishops were assigned duties and responsibility over specific ward boundaries in these cities, and over time individual congregations were defined by these boundaries. After the Mormon Exodus to Utah, this same terminology was preserved in the establishment of communities throughout the western USA. Indeed, voting districts of several Utah communities still follow the historical boundaries of their original LDS congregations. Due to the religious connection of this term, traditional Mormon pioneer communities generally do not use the term ward to define voting districts for political purposes.