Housemother Article (Heartwarming)
 

A newspaper's article about a woman who has been a sorority housemother for 10 years:

http://www.themercury.com/community/...23c3acbbb144e0

It's heartwarming (you have been warned!), but not sticky sweet. The story's from the Manhattan (Kansas) Mercury, headline is "Mom Robbins: At the heart of the Tri Delta house"

Brief excerpts:
"Mom Robbins" . . . has been the house mom for 10 years at Tri Delta. She does everything from managing employees and making sure the large house stays clean to baking over 100 cookies and spending time with members . . . .

. . . She said she decided to apply for the position after some convincing from her son.

"I had no idea what I was getting into," she laughed. "I stepped out of my comfort range and stepped into something frightening. You don't know how girls will react to you, and you don't know what you are supposed to do," she said.

. . . Robbins said her involvement with Tri Delta has been one of her most rewarding experiences. She said she feels that she has earned the respect she deserves from the members and employees.

"A month can go by and I feel like I haven't really made a difference. Then girls begin saying to me, 'You've made such a difference in our lives,' and it makes me feel really good," she said. "Most of the time you don't really see it. I mean most of the time, I'm just a mom."

Not only does Robbins feel she has gained respect in the Greek community but that she has more of an appreciation for Greek life herself. She said too often sororities and fraternities get bad reputations.

"Everyone just thinks of sororities as spoiled little girls that have everything," she said. "That's exactly what people think, but knowing what I know, how hard girls work,hold jobs and class, I just don't know how they do it," she said. . . .

"I love my life, I love getting up everyday, and I can thank Tri Delta for that. A big part of it is Tri Delta," she said.

that's so sweet. It sounds like they are really luck to have her

I really want to be a housemom when I'm older and the kids are grown.

Yeah, or if the husband kicks it before I do...

Oh, yeah, I forgot about him. :p:D

exlurker - Thank you for sharing that article. All I can add is that from my experience, House Moms (and Dads) are the best!

In general, are housemoms initiated at some point during their service?

In general, no. Especially the ones that are Housemoms at a fraternity.

We did not initiate our house mom. We did lavaliered her though- so she could wear our homecoming sweatshirts and stuff. In fact she was even part of our Rush skit day(it was a Brady Bunch theme). She dressed up like Alice and was part of the recieving line when the PNMs came in the door.

All the sorority housemoms at my D's school are initiated members of their respective orgs. They had joined the traditional way as undergraduates not through AI.

Why, looking for another avenue in?

No, housemoms were generally not initiated. Some were already members of other NPC organizations (ours is a Kappa Delta), some were members of the same organization and some were not affiliated with any organization. I'm sure in some instances, it has happened, but only after a long and dedicated history of service to an organization.

ISUKappa, that was my thought exactly. Brandi Rae just won't give it up!

Whether it be active poster or lurker, I like to think that members of all 26 NPC HQs are represented on GC.

That said, it's my hope that all of them are well aware of Miss BRC. I have faith in them that they'll give a resounding 'NO' if and when her AI application is submitted for approval.

Say hi to little Dartmouth! (Assuming this is the real BRC, of course)

A know of a Delta Gamma House Manager that was initiated into DG as an alum.

The general policy for Kappa Delta Housemothers is that they NOT be KDs. There might be some out there but the close relationship can cause problems with them getting too invested in the sorority rather than focusing on their job.

A few years ago the Housemother of the chapter I was working with had a death in her family and was gone for two weeks. I stepped in while she was away. It was a good learning experience (since I was on House Corp) and a lot of work, but WAY too much fun.