November 7, 2021

Kel Amstutz

Ain't No Hood... Like Motherhood...

Motherhood. 

It's literally one of the toughest jobs on the planet. 

I mean... you are responsible for keeping these tiny humans alive... for like years... and years... until they can walk and talk... then you need to teach them about life and survival. 

AGHH...

The days of having Mom be home all day, playing the part of the ideal homemaker, in heels, perfectly curled hair, and of course... 

the pearl necklace... 

living to dust with the feather duster while setting the dinner table and prepping the casserole to have it perfectly timed to arrive on the table when Dad walks in the door after his long day at work... are gone! 

Though... I am really not sure if the women in my family partook in this reality, as it seems through old pictures and such that they were always busy picking up groceries or tending children, whose ages were in great spans.  

 

But my point is... things have come a long way baby!  

 

Moms now-a-days work full time, outside of the home. Dinner comes from that local McD's or some other food chain that Mom's pass on their commutes from work.  Things have definitely changed since Leave it to Beaver's day.

Just a century ago... 

• the life expectancy averaged in the mid-50s. 
• Infant mortality was high. 
• Women has limited job options. 
• Women could NOT vote. 
• Women could not hold office. 
• Women rarely held executive positions. 
• Women's contributions were relegated, for the most part, to the home... and it was a home that looked very different from the appliance ridden homes we occupy today.

 

I think about these times when my own life gets tough. I see my Dyson vacuum that sits behind my desk. I think about those little modern conveniences that we have today to make our households run so much smoother. The things we truly take for granted in today's day and age. 

The Convenience of Cleaning.

Cleaning a house would require around 40 hours per week. It wasn't like the cleaning we do today. I am talking cleaning soot from fireplaces, smoke from stoves, thoroughly cleaning lamps, blackened walls, drapes, and soiled furniture. Every single day any glass in the home would need to be wiped down and wicks would need to be trimmed or replaced. And, floors were scrubbed, rugs were taken outside and beaten, windows were washed and everything was dusted. 

I mean.. we can all relate... right? I say this as I take a pre-moistened wipe out from the package and push it around my crumb collecting counter tops. Or I fill the bottle of my handy mop with water and put a new pad on the bottom and walk around the house "mopping" my floors. I should grab a soda from just thinking about all the work that needs to be done this week!

 

The Grueling Task of Cooking.

The other night, I was trying to bake some bread, that I did make, and my oven would NOT light. I was so upset and put-out that I nearly lost my mind. I mean... all I wanted was to bake some bread. What was I supposed to do? I mean... if all else failed, I could use the air fryer... or perhaps the countertop oven.... but, really? You have got to be kidding me. I have an oven that is suppose to be working!

I didn't think something as simple as my oven not lighting would put me in such a tizzy... I was seriously stressed out. And... the thing is... all I had to do was shut it off, wait a few minutes... and start it back up. 

 

Ugh.. as if!

Before there were supermarkets or all these devices that we have in our kitchens that make our lives easier (even if we don't think so in times of dire need), women usually made family meals from scratch in clunky, cast-iron stoves that would require thorough maintenance, regularly. There was so much care that went into sifting ashes, carrying coal or wood, lighting the fires, applying wax to keep the surfaces from rusting. 

 

Seriously.... could you imagine?

 

Back then, women baked the bread, butchered their own meat, plucked chickens, kept a garden, created conserves, among other things, and ground spices, all things that took up most of their time.   

These were the good ole' days after all!

 

The Rotten, No Good, Laundry.

This is, by far, my least favorite undertaking. Washing clothes often feels like it's the most tedious, thankless task ever. I mean... first it was little clothes... wash, treat stains, wash.... Then that thought that the little clothes would be no more... Well folks... they became bigger clothes.. and they take up more space in the washer, which results in more loads to be done... then there is the whole business of hanging this piece up... nope, not that one... and so on. Dirty clothes amass at a relentless pace! 

On a weekly basis, I procrastinate like no other Mother... as I haul a piled high basket to the laundry room, start sorting and... let it sit until the motivation hits me to start the process of washing, hanging, drying... all over gain. And don't get me started on folding. I mean... our clothes get extra rides in our dryer regularly!

But, before we had these great machines for 

washing (and drying) our clothes... 

not only did women have to lug around 

the heavy bundles of dirty linens, 

but many also had to transport and  

HEAT about 50 gallons of water 

from another source... 

hopefully nearby... 

to complete just  

ONE SINGLE LOAD 

of laundry. 

 

Then this laundry would need to 

• soak
• be scrubbed
• boiled
• stirred
• and then rinsed before 
• wringing out and pinning on a line, one by one, to dry...
  

 

And, since there wasn't any laundry detergent at the time, lye soap was usually made from animal fat that was leftover from curing the meats for storage. 

 

Dish-pan hands have nothing on what these poor women's hands endured. 

 

Then, the following day was spent ironing and mending. 

 

And I am not talking about grabbing your handy dandy sewing kit... 

 

I mean, using fibers harvested from the cotton or flax fields and hand-spinning them into thread. 

 

Awww.. HECK NO!!!

 

 

All I can say is that I salute these women before us. 

 

I know that we have come so far from these harsh times, motherhood still ranks one of the toughest jobs, but at least we have more help from our partners who take on domestic duties and share responsibilities. 

 

Plus, we can be grateful for all of those conveniences we have been granted within our households. 

 

Not to mention a lot less SOOT!

  

 

One Last Question...

Are you ready?

 

Let's get SHOPPING ... - or -   Let's build success!!!

 

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 {this is crazy HUGE}

 

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