Can we redefine the word "homemaker"?

In my mid-thirties, I had seemingly everything I’d ever wanted. I was married to a great guy and had four wonderful kids.

And I was miserable.

Amorphously, absolutely, and horribly miserable for no reason that I could really explain.

All I knew was that I wanted more and needed more and that more was something indefinable and elusive. I felt like I needed to escape something, but I didn’t know what. The utter confusion and feeling of being completely lost and not knowing why or how to fix it was too much to bear. So I turned to that ubiquitous social lubricant: alcohol.

My alcohol consumption quickly became an addiction that spiraled completely out of control. I eventually spent 78 days in a residential treatment center for alcoholism.

When I was in treatment, my counselors taught me many important things, but one that was crucial for me was that I needed to find my passion and pursue it! They didn’t just say it was a good idea; they said that for me, it was mandatory if I wanted to stay sober.

That advice led me to start my blog, One Good Thing by Jillee. Focusing on “one good thing” a day helped me find real joy and a sense of purpose in my role as a homemaker, both of which I lacked as a young mom.

That new-found sense of purpose helped me change my patterns of being the “perfect” mother and “perfect” homemaker. My quest for the unattainable in my former life nearly all but broke me and my family in two.

I finally came to realize that my family won’t remember the crooked pictures on the wall, the less-than-fancy dinners, or the laundry that sat for a day or two. But they will remember how they felt in my home.

Being a “Homemaker” isn’t just about “doing housework,” as the dictionary definition says.

So, I decided to redefine “homemaker” into a title I can truly embrace: “One who practices the art of making a house a home, one good thing at a time.”

I can't go back in time and stop the younger me from taking that first drink when life just got to be too much. But I can do my darnedest to make the work of homemaking easier for YOU. To give you the ability to enjoy more of your home and the people you made it for.