Domestic Vocation pt. 3

Good news over here - the antibiotics for little Samuel seem to finally be working, or perhaps they didn't work and he just got better on his own? Whatever, he feels better and so do I.

I'm in the research phase of my exploration of motherhood and house-keeping as my personal vocation and thought I'd share the books that I'm reading right now on the subject and some that I'm thinking about picking up in the future. (Note: Can you believe that I still have things to talk about re: domestic vocation? I know, I can't either.)

We all have a vocation because our vocation is to live the life that God calls us to. Simple, and yet oh so very hard. I should be a mother and a housewife as thoroughly and seriously as Bill Gates is the CEO of Microsoft. As seriously as the Pope takes his role. As seriously as anyone who is specifically following God's call. That pretty much sums it up.

I'm working through Keeping House: The Litany Of Everyday Life by Margaret
Kim Peterson and without launching into a book review (hmmm, maybe I should do book reviews about my reading in this area?) Peterson essentially discusses what a Christian home is for; her goal wasn't to tell you how to make your laundry whiter or tips on getting your kids to wash the bathroom but it's an in-depth analysis on the purpose of our homes, which is to be as little churches, as resting places, as quiet in the busy world. They should be 'miniature cities' that can house, clean, feed and refresh the weary travellers that live within them. This is so contrary to the idea that home is a place to fill with new stuff and activities and a place that is never enough. Not enough space, not enough light, the carpet isn't good enough, the blinds are too old, etc. Actually I'm part-way into Peterson's chapter on 'stuff' and where that fits into our home mentality.
I imagine my next book on the 'research list', Wendy Wright's Seasons Of A Family's Life: Cultivating the Contemplative Spirit At Home will carry on from the overview given by Peterson's book with more specifics. I'm trying to answer the questions of how, exactly, am I going to fulfill this calling. What sort of home do I want to have, how am I planning on caring for my family in specific, God-filled ways, and so forth? I'm already finding some of the answers to those questions. The Christian calendar, and the natural seasons are going to be focal points, I'm fairly certain. Traditions, customs, "we always bake pumpkin muffins at Thanksgiving" sort of rituals that, for me, will solidify the family within the house, build positive home-based memories and give me, the Mama at the helm of it all, a clear schedule so I don't go adrift.
To look into the idea of living within the Christian year I've ordered these two books: Living In God's Time: A Parent's Guide To Nurturing Children Through The Christian Year by Margaret Persky and Sarah Ban Breathnach's classic Mrs. Sharp's Traditions: Reviving Victorian Family Celebrations of Comfort and Joy.
I'm also debating a few titles that seem to be just up my alley in terms of seasonal Christian focus, but are written very much in a Catholic vein. I have nothing against this, I'm just uncertain HOW Catholic they're going to be and how much I can use them. There are a few saints, for example, whose 'days' I anticipate us celebrating (Like St. Nicholas, for example) but a lot of it might be not for us. Should I buy them for the good there might be, anyway? They are: A Yearbook of Seasons and Celebrations and A Book of Feasts and Seasons, both by Joanna Bogle.
So that's where I am right now.