Last month my team spent our time working in a conference center cooking and cleaning all day, every day. Our host was a woman named Emi and she is the sweetest lady!

Her life revolves around two jobs – motherhood and all-things-housewife. She is an incredible mother to her two children who have moved out of the house. A few times each year she adopts a World Race team as her own children, and we got the privilege of being her 7 daughters for the month! We received so much love and wisdom from her!

I have always thought cooking, cleaning, and running a household was a pretty easy job...but man, I learned pretty quickly that that is not the case. Here are 11 things I learned about housewife-ing in Bulgaria:

1. If you put salt in oil while you’re cooking it won’t splash out and burn you!

2. Aprons are a lifesaver.

3. Housewives almost never get the thanks or credit they deserve (and they deserve A LOT).

4. You are eternally doing laundry. It never stops coming.

5. It’s more fun if you learn to laugh at your mistakes.

6. They serve other people day after day, and barely get served in return.

7. Onions are vegetables – bulbs to be more specific. (yep I didn’t know this)

8. Cooking alone is not nearly as fun as cooking with friends!

9. Christmas music and dancing makes cleaning dishes much more fun. (we actually had so much fun singing and dancing we made a music video: https://youtu.be/3S00zsi1ldE)

10. You’re supposed to clean the mop after you use it, not just dump the dirty water out.

11. You really have to be mentally and physically tough. Washing and scrubbing dishes for hours, carrying buckets of laundry up and down the stairs, being on your feet ALL day – let's just say I used a lot of icy hot this month.

After this month I have mad respect for people who run their household. It is hard work and almost no one recognizes it. So, thank you to all the moms and dads out there who cook and clean and take care of your family. Housewives and househusbands are the backbone of this society, and I don't know why y'all don't get paid...you sure do deserve it! 

Love y'all, 

Em 

P.S. Shoutout to Carol Orlich (my mom) for cooking and cleaning and running the Orlich household for so long! Thank you

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