Seniors are Homemakers too!

We are getting older, but we are still Homemaking

Homemaking is a way of life. It’s not just about raising children. Homemakers are retirees, seniors, single empty nesters, men and women as well as individuals living with multiple members. I notice my neighbour who is a divorced senior living in a house by himself hanging his sheets, towels and clothing outside on the line regularly. He is a man who probably enjoys homemaking. Why? That is particular care given to something he enjoys and cares about - fresh air-dried laundry. He is a homemaker. Maybe it reminds him of a time in his past, a homey moment or ritual.

Home is a safe place, protection, comfort and comfortable. It’s the place you return to every day, the place you can rest, nourish yourself and take care of yourself. Homemaking is about the slow repetitive daily routines that shape our lives and create our homes.

The Benefits of Caring for a Home as a senior

·        Homemaking develops stability, warmth, belonging, comfort and a place of rest

·        Home making can be repetitive but it matters, its not meaningless

·        We all need routines and rhythms and love - everything homemaking provides

And all this work matters greatly as we get older, because, the older we get the more home means to us. Every care you give makes your house a place of peace.

What does homemaking mean? Then and Now

At one point homemaking was essential because men left the house to work and left the daily running of a house to the women. They stayed home during the day. When women eventually went out of the house to work, homemaking took a turn as well. Convenience became the norm: latch key kids, TV dinners, molly maids, after school programs. Homemaking didn’t disappear, the respect for it did.

The lost art of homemaking is not about going backward, it’s about remembering what actually sustains human life, with such things as order, soft structure, self care and a sense of this is where I belong.

Now

Homemaking helps to provide consistency, it teaches us patience and to appreciate the tiny things in life that we have worked for all our lives, the small bits of enjoyment and love of our collections and stuff we have collected and treasured, our memories we have brought home, our friends and travels. Being a homemaker helps to shape our character and will to keep showing up every day.

The downside of homemaking when you are in your senior years is that it can be lonely. Today, isolation makes everything harder. There is less support available to seniors. Gone are the days when neighbours dropped by to help shovel your walk, welcomed you to the community, and checked on you. Gone are the days when mail, milk, eggs, and laundry was delivered to your door and conversations and friendships were made with those around you. Family members lived near by and the home was a place of connection, warmth, familiarity and trust. Because when a place feels like that, home owners can rest and it feels like home.

So, no matter what age, embrace your home, embrace your homemaking. Spend sacred time with yourself in your homemaking rituals and structures, love your surroundings, laugh, pray, eat and make your tea or coffee, watch your favourite show, and stare out the window in peace. Whatever floats your boat.