So what does the title mean? Simply that being a woman, and being everything that women have been for centuries, is truly a lost art. I am one of very few of my generation who still practices so-called 'womanly arts' (hint: it has nothing to do with sex, though I do practice that a lot, too). I knit, I sew, I cook well. I have the luxury, for the time being, of being at home to raise my children. I craft, I nurture, I read, I write, I bake. I speak several languages. I love making my own breads, pastas, homemade pizza, and even chocolate truffles, 100% from scratch (no mixes, no frozen doughs, no shortcuts). I decorated my home myself and upholstered my sofa. And while I certainly understand that not everyone has time for all those things, it's not about that. I wish more people actually knew how to do them.
That's one of the things I'm most grateful to my mother for. She was a busy working single mom and she still found the time and patience to teach me all those things. I learned to sew and knit at the age of 7 or 8. I taught myself to crochet at the same age. She nurtured in me a love of reading that both of us credit with my ability to spell and write (another lost art that is quickly fading in the Internet age). I suppose some of it comes simply from a desire to be able to do things, and a love of learning that had nothing to do with any school. I think part of it can also be attributed to a love of good things, most of which I cannot afford to just go out and buy - good handknit sweaters, for example, cost a small fortune, as does a good meal in a nice restaurant. Instead I design and knit my own clothing, and today for lunch I am splurging on a heavenly bowl of pain de chevre and portobella mushroom risotto, which was inexpensive to make but tastes like a million bucks.
Granted, I don't make everything. There isn't enough time in a day, or enough energy. I buy most of my wardrobe staples - jeans, t-shirts, coats, etc. You will find frozen pizzas in my freezer. There are some nights when I just can't cook. But I know how to, and I can put on a spectacular spread for anything from Thanksgiving to a simple family dinner. I even make homemade baby food for my 8 month-old, and after a few months of that she won't touch the jarred stuff (score one for mommy!).
It's not bragging. I'm not out to make people feel bad about things they can't do. I just wonder what's going to happen as the years go by, as the generations who have carried these secrets with them for so long slowly die off, and the younger of us never bothered to gather all the knowledge they hung on to and tuck it into that treasured place where it belongs.
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good thoughts. my brother and i have discussed this often (though regarding people in general, not just women). it seems as we become more highly specialized, we lose the ability to do anything for ourselves. i mean, our great grandparents, (or sometimes even grandparents) had to know how to hunt, cook, make clothes, build houses, build furniture, grow things, the list goes on. most people now, if they met someone that had to do all those things, would probably consider them some sort of odd, possibly backward person. weird.
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