My mother once said she was 'just a housewife.' She was so much more | Suzy Leonard
As I settle into retirement, I’ve been thinking my mother.
She graduated with a bachelor of science degree in the 1950s, at a time when only about 21 percent of women attended college.
While her sister pursued a more "female-appropriate" major in home economics, my mother followed her heart, and her brain, and studied chemistry.
She only worked in the field for a few years. She met my father when they both worked in the lab of a major chemical company and quit her job while pregnant with my older sister.
She never went back to the lab, filling her days instead with carpools, volunteer gigs and, to satisfy her love for chemistry, baking.
Once, as a young adult, I went with her to run errands. We were in a department store, and someone asked her what she did for a living.
“Oh,” she said, “I’m a just housewife.”
I remember wanting to correct her, defend her. I was starting my life as a working woman. “Housewife” seemed antiquated, and so much less than all she had accomplished.
A woman of poise and purpose
Looking back on that afternoon from the distance of almost 40 years, I have a new appreciation for my mother’s career choice. She ran our household like a Fortune 500 business, managing the budget down to the penny, organizing our schedules and running our household.
She made all the medical appointments, scheduled home repairs and did the laundry, the shopping, the bulk of the cleaning, the lawn care and the cooking. Every morning, after getting us out of bed, she made breakfast, did the dishes and, while my father was in the shower, laid out his clothes for the day on a freshly made bed.
Our meals always included a protein, two vegetables and a salad, even if that salad consisted of a ring of pineapple resting on a single lettuce leaf and topped with cottage cheese.
She oversaw our homework and our chores, and still managed to take leadership roles at church and in various non-profits, while baking elaborate wedding and birthday cakes on the side.
She was busier than any full-time worker I’ve ever known.
So this is what retirement's like
I’ve always wondered how I would fill my days if work wasn’t part of the equation.
Now, I have the chance to find out.
I spent the first week of my retirement working, because I’m a world-class procrastinator and had two stories to finish.
Once that final deadline was met, I had lunch with a girlfriend that included two glasses of wine.
Otherwise, things have been uneventful.
My husband and I spent the weekend painting our pool deck, something that would have annoyed me in the past. A two-day project doesn’t leave much time for necessary weekly chores.
But this week, I was able to shop for groceries on Monday morning and do a load of laundry on Tuesday and mail packages on Wednesday. What a luxury to run errands during the week instead of saving them for the weekend.
My husband and I have always shared the housework, and I’ll admit it. Some things I’ve tended to leave for him. Just because I worked from home didn’t mean I had time to unload the dishwasher or roll the recycle bin around the house.
Now, there are no excuses. I run the vacuum daily, fluff the couch cushions and tidy the kitchen.
I’ve also been busy planning a charity dinner and having lunch to discuss volunteer opportunities. I’ve even signed up for a cake decorating class.
It’s taken me 60 years, but I’m finally turning into my mother.
Almost.
Mr. Leonard leaves for work at 5 a.m. He can pick out his own clothes in the morning.
Suzy Fleming Leonard spent more than four decades as a journalist before retiring from FLORIDA TODAY in February.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: I'm turning into my mother. Turns out, I'm OK with that | Suzy Leonard
