Stoddard Stuff

My stake had a women's meeting on Saturday that left some tasty morsels in my mouth and in my mind. Here are my notes:

Love, trust, understanding and feeling like our efforts are valued are all vital things for women. We dont want our spouses telling us how lucky we are to get to stay home all day because we dont want anyone to feel like the work we do at home with our children is easy and mindless. We want our husbands to recognize that ours is a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week job from which there are no vacation or sick days. We want and need our partners to value our efforts in the home and to see it as their responsibility to co-parent with us whenever possible.

King Benjamin taught us to find balance in our lives. Truly, what we choose to focus on may put our families in jeopardy. Even good things can distract us from what's most important. Devoting our time to education, work and social standing while our children are young is such risky business. They need us present, mentally and physically to shape their formative years.

Over time, houses have gotten closer together while neighbors have grown apart. 100 years ago, farm houses may have been separated by hundreds of acres but those families were still attentive, close-knit, life-long friends. Now, we can practically see into each other's bathroom windows but we may not even know each other's names. How tragic this is. What missed opportunity for friendship and companionship.

And as for cooking... It is the plight of every mother and wife, the daily necessity of feeding our families. Why is it that when we make a meal for a sick friend it's service, but when we feed our own families each day it's work? Recognizing the importance of family mealtime can change our attitudes from the drudgery of work to the grandeur of service. Think of them as "dishes of love", "messes of love". Family mealtime brings people together, creates memories and promotes healthy eating habits. We must not be too busy to make the effort to have family mealtime. We ought to include our husbands and children in meal preparation to teach them the skills and help them appreciate our efforts. Dont be too busy to teach or too rigid to allow for messes and mistakes. Even disasters in the kitchen create memories.

Good stuff, huh? You're welcome.