It's a VERB. HAUSFRAUING.

Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): hausfrau
Etymology: German, from Haus [house] + Frau [woman, wife].
First Known Use: 1798.

1 : a  housewife.

HA HA HA!!!


In the case of my visit to Cousin Laurie's life in Austin, TX, "Hausfrauing" means something a little different.  Gathered  on Laurie's deck overlooking the sunset was an eclectic group of savvy, creative, professionally successful women, all nearby neighbors in their little piece of Austin heaven. Among them was a public relations executive, a commercial real estate developer, an activist, and a residential real estate agent, all with children (some of whom were there), some with husbands. I don't know what sort of advance work Laurie did to warn them - they were surprisingly welcoming and genuinely curious about life here at The Fahm. How did you end up living on a "Family Fahm" in rural Massachusetts? And so on until one thing led to another and before the evening was over, I was also quizzed about my goals and plans moving forward. What's next for you, Sara?


And here I thought we were just going to have a little small talk with our chips and salsa!


In fact, I was stunned, humbled, and gratified by their interest AND by their advice about which direction(s) I might consider vis a vis turning "Our Year at The Fahm" and being "Cracked" into something material, maybe even something resembling (gasp!) an income stream. Their enthusiasm, curiosity, support, excitement, wisdom, and wit were SUCH novelties to me, and so very refreshing. "Write a BOOK!" was their near unanimous declaration, and then a little later,

Note to self after Hausfrauing

The question I have for my Hausfraus is, which one??