HOUSEWORK —And An Amateur

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 29, 4 February 1939, Page 5 (Supplement)

HOUSEWORK —And An Amateur

By Wheturangi

Housework is not my chosen vocation. I believe in regular hours, independence, a lone .life and a merry one, free from the worries of preparing meals, free from the idiosyncrasies of any man. . When other children played with dolls and arranged little "houses"-in corners, carefully undressing and redressing. Jlieir infants with , all motherly solicitude, I chose tovbuild mud.castles.or, to wander across fiitfds ■ and- climb; the lulls; .when infant- girl playmates. :pulledvtlie ; . petals off the'; flowers; mixed tliem - with water to make' some ; sort of soup, or stirred grass pollen' and sticky gum from the trees for a sweets course, 1 preferred to catch snails' and race them over the garden. Queer things snails, independent, little brutes, and obstinate, preferring-to ' .retire vinto. .their shell rather than be bullied on to fresh woods ;and- pastures new. Later, when other criris were busy, learning to -cook, fashioning bits of dough into httle men complete; with',-currant ■ buttons. 011. their suits,. or wereiproridly • serving< up'• their ■fir=t dinner; I would .retire into sunny corner and bury-my head, m a

book. Not all the loud abuse of my friends, nor the fact that my family held them as'such shining examples of perfect girlhood (I knew tliein!) could move me into any liking for domesticitj. A life doomed to, the house, must be for women that utter darkness of weepin" and gnashing of teeth. So 1 thought, until I went to stay at Mcgsiefs. lle"6ie had been married some years. She had a delightful home, in one of those country towns where one can have all the joys of country life, yet all the amenities of little town shops that are quaint in their effort to emulate large city stores. She has a husband, good as husbands go, twin boys of four, and is charmingly, infectiously—even irritatj n criy—liappy. Periodically I spend a fortnight with her, a delicious fortnight of country air and tramps and riding, and jolly social country nights. This year, luilf way through my fortnight, ile"sie fell ill. There was, of course, no "maid, so with some trepidation I turned to and, following cries of instruction from Megsie's : bedroom, became maid-of-all-work.

For the first time T realised just how much there was to be done in a house, and by no means did I follow Megsie's policy of dusting, polishing and cleaning. Mine was certainly most slap-dasn tidying, but I found it enough. I will draw a dark curtain over the first efforts at cooking. I'm afraid Megsie's bill went up several shillings that week on wasted foodstuffs. I discovered it was possible to ruin even such simple things as sausages with .an amateur hand. As the days passed, the work became easier—and. fun. "Not that the cooking improved. By no means. A diet of salmon and lettuce, sardines on toast, baked beans and kindred tinned subjects had to suffice for the greater number of meals, while puddings were non-existent. But there came a pleasure in getting Bill off to work, well-breakfasted, m washing and dressing the twins and seeing them down the road to their little kindergarten. There was a tremendous satisfaction in making beds and sweeping, in keeping the shining polish shining, in brightening the brassware, and having the rooms spotless, the cushions plumped and welcoming, the flowers fresh and the windows •smiling; There was.-a thrill

of pride in walking through the rooms and seeing them neat and straightened by your hand, in working in a spotless kitchen, in bathing the children in a bathroom clean and white. I learned more in those few days of "housekeeping" than how to make toast to the family's liking, than how to make mustard and boil potatoes. I found that there is more in running a home than keeping it tidy, a great deal more in looking after a family than darning socks and keeping them well-fed. Megsie's home is a boisterous one. There is always laughter and chatter and small voices singing. During the days of her illness there was a quietude, a tension and a restlessness of indecision. Bill could not settle down to any of his usual nightly tasksj the twins were subdued. There was a 100k 1 of anxiety on their little faces, a puzzled look, and their fumbling efforts to help nurse, to keep quiet and good, were pathetic. When they realised she was better a**ain, their faces seemed to blossom like flowers after .rain, and became brighter and happier. I, learned-that-after all the office girl rather than the housewife is the -one w&o sacrifices in life, (