Kaya

I'm a 38 year old wife, mother, and grandma-to-be (squee!). I've been a domestic slave for about 5 years now. We mostly employ a 1950's style marriage, with a healthy dose of s&m thrown in for spice.

It feels like Master and I have known each other for forever and a day. The phrase "We've come a long way, baby" fits us the best. Though it's only been 5 years, we've conquered and battled so many things. From learning to co-parent and blending families, to unemployment, to cross-state moves, to teen pregnancy, through depression and financial woes, home purchasing, almost-break ups to reconnections. We've packed 20 years into 5 and come out stronger on the other side for it.

Master is an engineer and works long, hard hours to afford me the opportunity to stay at home and be the wife he's always longed for and the mother the kids need. Because of that I do my best to save money where I can, and perform to the best of my abilities. He sometimes travels for work so I'm adept (now) at switching gears between the submissive wife who is content to follow his lead, and having to step into the leadership, decision-making role.

My children (mine from a previous marriage) are the most important things in my world. I consider motherhood to be the most difficult and the most rewarding "job" on the planet. There is nothing that fills my heart more than seeing them healthy and happy. Though they aren't perfect, they are all 3 extremely talented, bright, beautiful and engaging souls. Being their mother is my greatest achievement.

I used to work as a nurse's aide, exclusively with elderly and Alzheimer's sufferers. I miss the job sometimes, but I wouldn't trade the peace, serenity and simplicity of life now for a million dollar job offer. If I could, I'd turn back time and live Little House on the Prairie style.

The last three years have allowed me to focus quite heavily on domestic service as a stay-at-home wife and mother. I did not take to it like a duck to water but more like a duck learning to drive. It did not come naturally to me.

I was a single parent working full-time for many years. I had never been taught how to cook beyond boxed/frozen dinners, and I relied on, and loved, the convenience of buying household products that made my life easier. So when I was suddenly thrust into the position of "domestic goddess" and told to cook from scratch, make bread and learn how to save money - I flailed around for quite awhile.

I still sometimes feel like I'm just barely treading water, especially when I am in the company of my idols (like Danae and Mandy!) but when I look back on how just a few short years ago I would burn water, I know I've made a lot of progress.

I rarely buy pre-packaged food, I'm a newly-obsessed gardener, I make my own bread and have reduced our cleaning products to the simplest and cheapest items. I can throw a decent dinner party for 10 with barely a blink, and I love love love to have my Man come home to a sparkling clean house and a home-cooked meal on the table.

We've recently moved to the country, to a fairly isolated area where we have room to become more self-sufficient. We're positively giddy at the opportunities opened up to us here.

My new goals for this gardening season are to learn how to can/freeze the vegetables that I hope to grow, and how to make salsa, pickles and spaghetti sauce. Blueberries grow in wild abundance here so I'll try my hand at whatever it is one makes with blueberries.

We're going to build a chicken coop and raise our own chickens starting real soon, but probably just for eggs to start. We'll possibly do meat chickens after I've mastered chicken rearing. We're talking about getting a nanny goat too, but I find the idea of milking it for drinking or making cheese to be beyond my abilities right now. I'd like to try and raise a pig for slaughter but Master said I'll just fall in love with it and want to keep it as a pet so his answer is no.

It should be an interesting summer with lots of new experiences. Hopefully, I can share some of them here with you all.

~kaya

Website: Under His Hand