Queen of Socks

"Her home and her housekeeping, her parish and her poultry, 

and all their dependent concerns, had not yet lost their charms."  

~Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice~

I was rereading Pride and Prejudice the other day and ran across this little gem, referring to Charlotte's contentment in her situation as Mrs. Collins, even with such a husband.  Thankfully, I did not marry a man like Mr. Collins, but as a former apartment dwelling career woman turned mother, pastor's wife, and domestic diva, I certainly find this quote fascinating.  I was a tad nervous (nay terrified) to become a stay-at-home mother, imagining the drudgery of being trapped at home day and night with screaming, ill-behaved micro-ruffians with never a moment's peace, but as with many things in this life, I was gravely mistaken.  I have never had more fun, been more content, or felt more at peace with myself and my situation.

Modern society turns up its nose at the domestic arts, declaring vehemently that no self-respecting woman should be forced to mop floors and wipe noses nor would any sensible woman choose such a fate.  That is why they invented day care, take out, and cleaning services!  You work insane hours so you can afford to pay someone else to attend to all the tedious chores of simply staying alive.  That really makes very little sense if you think about it.  Why work yourself to death for the privilege of paying someone else to raise your kids and cook your meals and wash your socks?  Where is the living and life in that?  There may be very little glory in washing socks, but they're my socks and I washed them and only lost 3!  That's an accomplishment, isn't it?  Can you imagine my resume?  

It is amazing how attitudes have shifted, what once was a staple of any society: a woman running and managing the household, has become a thing to be wondered at.  Women have been the CEOs of their own homes since the dawn of time, and it is to their dedicated service that most societies owed their thriving and success.  They raised all the leaders and soldiers and craftsmen and philosophers, not to mention managed the affairs of their household so successfully that their husbands could attend to business and matters of state without worrying that their own personal interests would disintegrate without them.  These unsung heroes have been the cornerstone of society for generation upon generation, it is only in the modern world that we scoff at the very foundations of our life and prosperity, and the results are not hard to see.  Our families are falling apart, virtue is nonexistent, the stress and hecticness of our lives is unrivaled in history, and no one seems the happier for it, cynicism, discontent, and depression are rampant.

Like the prodigal son, our entire society has left home intent on pleasure and success, but as soon as our money runs out, so do our friends and fun, leaving us to wonder whyever we left home in the first place.  Kingdoms rise and fall, but home and family have always been the cornerstone of society and civilization and will ever be so while this world lasts.  And being a Queen of Socks is a vital role indeed!