Home has a magical connotation to it. Are you a homemaker? As I moved from place to place (remember Dad’s comment about a tumbleweed landing somewhere), Mom and Dad helped me unpack my precious things. Mom made a statement once when I moved into a small two-bedroom apartment after my first divorce. “Larada, this place will become your home when you get your pictures up on the walls and your knickknacks on the shelves.” After that, I have always thought of her quote when I moved, as I placed familiar pictures on the walls and lifelong knickknacks out because it held true for me!
The term “homemaker” sounds archaic, but I grew up with it. My mom deemed herself “a homemaker.” Today, I found this poem in my sketch book/journal. Enjoy!
A Homemaker
October 15, 2002
Homemaker
Happy homemaker
How is a home made?
Splashes of me on the walls,
Pieces of me on the coffee table.
A refrigerator covered with my magnets
Quotes—words that burn the cherished memory
Deep inside me
Pictures
Memorabilia
Yes, a home is made!
Stiff timber, straight wall lines, splendid roof
Construct a house,
But I want home,
And I get to make it.
I created it,
with the warmth of me,
my things,
the clutter that’s familiar.
It’s me!
It’s been in a variety of packages,
A small one bedroom apartment in Denver
A larger two-bedroom apartment in Denver
A three-bedroom ranch style in Loveland
A small two-bedroom apartment in Loveland
A long skinny three-bedroom mobile home, moved to
Loveland
Fort Collins
Northglenn
Raton
A small studio apartment in Albuquerque
An old two-bedroom fixer upper house in Albuquerque
in a spacious beautiful three-bedroom stucco palace in Albuquerque.
But it’s also been in
A tent
My camper
Our RV
An airplane
A Mayan Indian ruin one in Coba
An Anasazi ruin in Chaco Canyon
And it’s also been
In the forest among the trees
With my dad in Branson on the ranch
In the sweat lodge and the spiritual heart of the native people
In a good book
In my writing
On the beach at Playa Del Carmen
It’s large
It's expansive
because it’s the world,
My spacious place I’ve created.
Finally, today I live a beautiful home in the trees in the east mountains above Albuquerque with my pictures on the walls and my faithful knickknacks scattered around on various shelves. And once again, I hear Mom’s statement about being a “homemaker.” This has been my home now for ten years, so this tumbleweed has landed, again! I’ve been in the Albuquerque area for thirty years!
What is home to you? Are you a homemaker? What defines a home to you? I invite you to comment below!
Side Note
To save my arthritic hands, I used Microsoft Words’ ability to dictate this poem. On the top menu in Word, go to “Edit” and down to “Start Dictation.” I said commands like “period, comma, exclamation point.” We all need tools to help us work faster and save our hands. Just wanted to share this little nugget of help!
Visit my website to find out about my new book, Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better? and my other five books and three cookbooks: https://laradasbooks.com
beautiful poem Larada.. So true that all those little things help give a home meaning
Thank you. For sure!