What's in a name?

What’s in a name?  That’s what I’ve been asking myself this week.  My husband dropped the “h” (as in homemaker) word a few days ago, which has me feeling a little too much like June Beaver!  Seriously….who uses that word?  I’m totally into being called mom, stay-at-home-mom, wife, take your pick!  But homemaker?  Now mind you, he used the word in a complimentary way, so why was my first reaction to take offense?  It could be the timing.  It was just after dinner, and I was up to my elbows in soap suds with bits of ingredients decorating my shirt like a bad bedazzling job.  And I love being called mommy…90% of the time.  When my oldest was a baby, I dreamed of the day he could utter the word I’d been longing to hear through pregnancy and infancy.  Now there are times I cringe at the “m” word, especially when used in the middle of the night or in conjunction with the bathroom.

So am I having an identity crisis?  Do I need to post a list of acceptable words used to address me?  I’ve come to the conclusion that this is a battle I need to wage within myself.  God created me perfectly and knows me inside and out.  I must rest in the knowledge that I am the woman He created me to be, whether that’s designing factories as an engineer or wiping bottoms and cooking meals as a homemaker.  These titles all fall under the umbrella of “Sarah, child of God”.  This realization lets my husband and everyone else off the hook.  Despite how people label me, I have already labeled myself with the most authentic name of all. 

After writing this post, I realized that I've had my name posted in my kitchen, thanks to some great co-workers who mailed me my nameplate after I resigned and moved cross-country to take on motherhood full-time.  This is where it all happens....coffee and wine are plentiful amidst the endless whining:-)