H.E.R – Home Economics Re-imagined is now my mission, sharing life hacks (i.e. shortcuts, tips and wise pronouncements) that help today's homemakers live their lives with intention. I want individuals to recognize when their efforts are “good enough”, which is something I am constantly working on. There is no such thing as perfection, as only One was perfect. So, knowing when to award yourself the satisfaction that an effort is good enough is a worthy goal.
In addition to being a wife, mother and grandmother, I am an educator. I began as a home economics teacher, which is something of an oddity since I don't really like to talk. But at the time, I saw that I had three options for a career: secretary, nurse or teacher. Well, I didn't want a career in which I answered to a boss all day (i.e. secretary). And since I feel faint at the sight of blood, nursing was out. Therefore, I became a teacher. And since I loved my high school home economics teacher, I became a home economics teacher.
Along that career path, I kept working my way toward administrative positions. First, I accepted the position of a local career and technical education director, which means I was in charge of all career and technical education for my county, not just home economics. Career and technical education included agriculture, family and consumer sciences (home economics), business, career, marketing and trades and industrial education.
Then, as I approached my fifties (I am now 70!), I decided to get my doctorate. So, at 49, I started on my Ed.D. in Educational Leadership. And now, I have a 232-page dissertation (and a diploma) to prove it
Finally, I finished my education career as a regional career and technical education coordinator for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. I loved that job! It was one of service to all career and education teachers in my region, assisting with curriculum, teaching methods and management of allotted funds.
When I decided it was time to retire, the transition into retirement was not easy for me. It took me about two years to stop playing games on my iPad, putting together jigsaw puzzles and playing sudoku. I really needed a project – something I would enjoy, but that also allowed me to be creative and productive.
So, my husband and I started a non-money-producing business to create furniture and home décor with reclaimed wood. We both grew up on farms with lots of old barns, which were beginning to decay. We started tearing them down board by board and turning those boards into mostly tables and picture frames. (You'll see pictures later on My Home page)
I framed a lot of jigsaw puzzles with old barn wood and labeled the backs of the frames with plaques designating the origin and probable age of the wood. But I sold none of them. I gave them to family members or hung them in my home. I just hated to let go of something that was so much a part of me and my past.
Then, I started putting together ideas about sharing many of the things I learned through the years about living and homemaking. And thus – H.E.R. – Home Economics Re-imagined was born. And in my “perfectionist” state of mind, it took me another several years to be “ready” to launch my online presence. I have since learned that I am a procrastinator. The first step is to admit that, which I now do.
The home economics I learned when I first started taking those courses had to evolve to fit today's lifestyles. People are too busy to make their own clothes or raise and cook all their food. But many are seeking a simpler lifestyle, while going back to the basics of whole foods that provide nutrition that promote health. And many want to slow down and enjoy their lives in a way that is more intentional. They are tired of life being something that just happens to them as they react to situations that develop along the way.
So, I hope you'll join me on this journey of a good-enough life lived with your own defined intent.