So, my dear fiend Stephanie just told me the correct title is Ama de casa, which you could translate as love of the house. I love this title also. But now I've grooved on being the soul of the home, I am adopting the title Alma de casa for myself. In a world of pre-packaged labels, I'm choosing my own this time, via my bad translation. Read on for the full-story...
As I begin my 38th revolution around the sun, I am disgruntled. Actually, I feel as if I am hanging in limbo, Roarke will begin school this fall and I will have a quiet home for 5 hours each morning. But, I digress from my reason for venting with this blog.
About one month ago, I went to the notary office with my landlady to sign the lease for one more year. (One thing you should know about Mexico, as an outsider I see the citizens of Mexico hold two things dear to their hearts: paperwork and the national obsession...cleaning!) So, we are going through volumes of paperwork and the woman in the office asks me my profession, I'm at a loss for words. I look at my landlady, Alma, and shes says "Alma de casa". I said "That is how you say housewife is Spanish? It sounds so much better in Spanish than English!"
This is why alma de casa is better, this translates as soul of the home. Yes, that is what I am! I am the soul that keeps things functioning, or not, and I put all my soul into this home. So many times I have been offended when people ask what I "do", I tell people what I do, and the response is "oh, you just stay at home with your kids?". I've posted that before and my response, which is always: "Yes, I JUST do." But this isn't the extent of me, I am a complex woman; not totally blissed out on motherhood and living only FOR my children. I live WITH my children, we are on this journey through life together, I hope I am a worthy guide and mentor to them.
My point; semantics matters to me, alma de casa sounds rich and heartfelt, while as housewife...I may run with a butcher toward the next person that labels me with those words! And now to the moral of this story, the next time you meet a mother that stays at home and is the soul of her house, call her alma de casa, domestic goddess, call her extraordinary but don't call her a housewife or a stay at home mom. We women don't stay at home, we take our children out into this world and we teach them (and ourselves) love, compassion, wonder, discovery and so many other adjectives. But we are not married to our houses and we don't just stay at home. Now go on, go make a domestic goddess' day!
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3 comments:
Oh how I love Thee ~
signed a fellow Alma de Casa,
PS Justyn S. in Indy recommended a book as we were talking one day and I started reading it last night The Price of Motherhood by Ann Crittenden. I've jsut read the intro and am looking forward to the rest of the words. How 'bout it, my PS is longer than my origional thought. ;)
Justyn S from indy here ;) just finding your blog. Alma de Casa - love it. I always say "homemaker" it sounds antiquated but I think it is a far better illustration of what I try to do - to create a hom - in every sense of the word. I may say Alma de casa from here on out.
I think Alma de Casa would be a great name for housewife, but it is "ama de casa", which could be translated "love of the house", which is pretty darn good too. Now "ama" may have some secondary meaning in this case and hopefully it's not something horrible like slave or indentured servant...I will investigate...
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