1981
Homemaking Day … Time for Discovery
March 1981


“Homemaking Day … Time for Discovery,” Ensign, Mar. 1981, 21

Homemaking Day …

Time for Discovery

For twenty-five years I have regularly attended homemaking activities in Relief Society. In that time, I’ve learned to decorate, quilt bedspreads, can squash, dry jerky, and cook with gluten. I’ve watched demonstrations on everything from scrubbing floors to spraying ceilings. I even discovered that wheat germ oil is marvelous as a skin cream. So when it comes to homemaking day, there’s not much I haven’t tried.

One day last year, while my neighbor and I were on our way to Relief Society, we talked about how good it was to abandon our low-calorie diets for a day and enjoy chatting with the sisters in our ward during homemaking day luncheon. We all need sisterhood, encouragement, reminders, reinforcement, and the new ideas we get in the Relief Society. I made a joke, though, that when it came to miniclasses, I didn’t think there were any more tricks they could teach this old dog; I’d seen ’em all already.

We had a good chuckle; but that very day I had a new experience that brought to life something within my soul that had lain dormant all these years. It was during a miniclass on “Writing Your Life Story.” For many years I had thought how I’d love to put into words my feelings about my deceased mother. But the instant the instructor handed out paper and pencils, my old insecurities came creeping back and all I could think was, “I can’t write. I can’t even spell. Nobody would be interested in my simple thoughts.” Nevertheless, I struggled and struggled and got a few sentences down on paper.

Then an idea came to me. Maybe I could write a story about my mother and send it to my brothers and sisters on Mother’s Day. I could relate memories of some of the wonderful times we had shared with her.

I was excited. Now that I had a target date, I went home and pushed a few of my insecurities aside and kept writing. A couple of times I went to the home of the miniclass instructor for help and encouragement. She, too, was excited about my project, and her enthusiasm seemed to spur me on to meet my deadline. It was a few days before Mother’s Day when I copied my five-page story and put it into colorful binders to send to my nine brothers and sisters in various parts of the country.

I can’t explain the satisfaction I felt. It wasn’t just the joy of having paid tribute to my mother and family, but something had come alive inside me. It was something fun, exciting, and rewarding. When I received positive—even enthusiastic—response from my family on the story, that new discovery about myself was even more satisfying. I found myself so involved in writing that I didn’t even feel a need to eat.

Needless to say, any apathy I might have felt about our miniclasses in Relief Society has vanished. I love being a woman, and I love what Relief Society does for me. Just think! I might have a quarter of a century to discover new things still waiting to come to life inside me.

  • Donna L. Craven, mother of six children, serves as a Relief Society counselor in her Bountiful, Utah, ward.