Run a home as business

From order comes passion

Mary Goyens

By DEBORAH GYAPONG
Canadian Catholic News
Ottawa

Mary Goyens of Montreal experienced tremendous pressure to work outside the home in order to find fulfillment when she first started having children.

She seemed to receive that message from every side while coming of age in the 1970s. Then she attended a talk at a Catholic retreat centre that turned her life around. An older woman with a large family shared how a mother could bring passion and professionalism into running a home like a business.

Handle the pressure

The talk inspired Goyens. She went on to raise eight children who range in age from 27 to 16. The youngest has special needs. Now Goyens is passing the message on to young mothers who today face even more pressures to abandon the home for the workplace.

On May 27 in Ottawa, Goyens shared her inspiration with two dozen young moms. She stressed that happiness in the home begins with order. Order stems from having right motives, understanding priorities and instilling a sense of responsibility into children from the start.

Strategies

Goyens passed along several time-tested tips.

• Take time to fix yourself up and put on a bit of makeup in the morning.
• Teach your children to make their beds and tidy up their things.
• Organize play areas so everything has a proper place.
• Declutter often and encourage children to give their things to charity.
• Expect everyone to put things back where they belong.
• Encourage the entire family to make the home attractive, civilized and efficiently-run.
• Don't let order smother spontaneity and love.
• Teach children to schedule their tasks and set priorities.
• Plan ahead, manage time.
• Keep track of dates and appointments using a calendar.
• Even if we're disorganized ourselves, we can educate in areas where we try to improve.
• Help children develop pride in their home.
• Stay on top of laundry and small household tasks.
• Make time for family, friends and exercise.
• Most important of all, make time to be with your husband.

Friendship

The talk and reception were organized by the Neeje Association, a non-profit charitable corporation that sponsors educational activities for women.

Neeje is an Ojibway word for friendship.

Its spirituality is inspired by Opus Dei.

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