Recently, I read an article in Cooking Light magazine entitled "Bring Back Home Ec!" by Hillari Dowdle. You can read it yourself by clicking here.  While reading, I was nodding my head in agreement, mumbling "you got that right" and even applauding. Yes, I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Here's the thing: we did mess up an entire generation (at the very least) by removing home economics from school. In this post-home economics, post-modern world, there is at least one generation that doesn't know how to sew, cook, or keep house. Dowdle's article focused on nutrition and how learning basic cooking skills go hand-in-hand with basic nutrition. Intriguing to say the least.

I got to thinking about my own middle school and high school experiences and the home economics classes offered. In the 7th grade, I signed up for home ec, but one of my mom's friends talked me out of it because she wanted me to take yearbook of which she was the teacher. 

"You don't need that stuff. Your grandma can teach you how to cook and sew," she told me one afternoon before school started.

And, in some ways she was right. I was lucky enough to have a mom, grandma and great aunts who taught me to clean, cook, bake and sew. They also tried to teach me to garden, but somehow that didn't "stick." I probably failed, if not then, certainly now. 

After my 8th grade year, home economics was removed from our middle school/high school campus. That was 1990, folks. And it was removed because there was very little interest in the class, and that had been the case nationwide for a decade. So it makes sense that schools would get rid of an unwanted program for something in demand like computer skills or even art. 

But it's sad and I think Dowdle's right when she says "we lost out on something important." Yes, those girls and boys who opted out of home ec, whose schools didnt' offer home ec or whose mother or grandmother didn't teach her home ec skills, lost out not only on learning those skills but also on passing them down to their own daughters and sons. Think about that for a minute. 

If Molly didn't receive any cooking, sewing or baking training from school or home, now that she's grown up with a daughter of her own, Susie, she can't even teach Susie how to do the things she didn't learn to do. And unless Susie learns those skills in school she won't be able to pass it down to her children. Can you say "microwave ready" or "heat-and-eat"? Well Molly and Susie know those words well because unless they teach themselves to cook by watching you-tube videos (how else do you learn how to do something in the 21st century?)  that's all they'll ever know how to cook.

As for feminism and sexism, please, I don't have the time or energy to discuss that in this blog. But let me say this, cooking, cleaning, baking, sewing and caring for children are basic skills that both genders should learn. My husband knows how to sew. Does that make him less of a man? No. If anything, it makes him manlier because he doesn't need his mommy or his wife to do it for him. (though I am happy to hem his pants or patch his jacket)

So, leave sexism in the 20th century and bring back home ec.

I am not a "roll with the punches" kind of girl. I don't do spontaneity and I don't think anyone has ever called me "laid back." In fact, if you look up "easy-going" in the dictionary, it says "antonym: Kristy Rose." I'm serious. Go look. I'll wait. 

Let me just break this down for you. I alphabetize my spices. My movies, books and CDs are organized by genre and then placed in alphabetical order. My closet is arranged by style then by color. I keep three calendars and make to-do lists. Excel is one of my favorite software packages because I make spreadsheets for everything. Like the seven-page outline for our wedding. Or the packing lists, complete with multiple check-off boxes for each item, for every trip. I spend hours obsessing over schedules and itineraries and eventually put those into spreadsheets too. I even schedule "sleep" and "relaxation." I can't help it. I like to have an order to everything. 

That's probably why God called me to be an Avon lady. I can whip up a two-day delivery schedule broken into 15-minute increments in under five minutes. And then I stick to that schedule. My customers joke that they can tell the time by me. Yes, punctuality is as important as order and remaining on schedule is of top priority. I mean, why bother making a schedule or a spreadsheet if you're not going to stick to it?

In high school, I had a button on my book bag that read, "I thrive on stress." Yes, yes I do. Deadlines, timetables, lists, spreadsheets. These are the fabric of my life. Don't mess with it. 

To me, life is all about the details. I know this makes me intense. Perhaps that's why the Pastor who married us suggested I join his Type A recovery group. Oh how I wish I was joking. 

That said, there are three things that bring me deep relaxation and relief. I mean the kind of relaxation that sinks deep into your bones and makes your soul sigh. That's the kind of relaxation a Super Type A like me needs. 

Baking gives me deep joy and relief from my world of order. I know most people believe cooking is an art and baking is a science. But for me, baking is an art. An art from the deepest place in my heart.

Being in the water, whether it's pool, ocean, lake or river, washes away the stress and compulsion. I remember taking a class on Watsu (water-based massage) and the teacher said, "wow, girl, you really let go when you get into the water." At the time, she was performing watsu on me and noticed how every muscle in my body just melted and glided through the water. 

Yet there is one thing that takes me to a tranquil place even more than baking or water. You guessed it. Hula. When I hula, I forget there's a world around me. I forget to think. I let go of planning. I just dance. My body responds to the music as though it was created for hula. My hips keep time, my hands tell the story and I step-together-step-touch into another world. 

That's why hula worship has struck such a deep chord in my soul. The music leads me to a meditative mindset and my hands tell the story of my Awesome Creator and Savior. When I dance and sing praise to God, I feel this calming yet invigorating energy move through me and fill me up. It's Aloha. (read last week's post to understand) 

Hula worship to me is like melting into Him and finally taking a breath, finally resting in His love and grace.