June 18, 2010, Newsletter Issue #367: The Myth of June Cleaver or Martha Stewart

Tip of the Week

Okay, The Hollywood Reporter just put out an article on the Anti-mom. The writer, spoke about how the evolution of the mom has changed from the Donna Reed and June Cleaver days to what we see now.
No longer do women vaccum and clean house while wearing high heels and pearls and do it all with a smile. Now, many tv moms are neurotic, hysterical, unorganized, or too organized (think Bree Van de Camp), but they are flawed. Brilliantly, realistically flawed. They freak out, they screw up, they fall on their faces, and they are fierce defenders of family, all while being flawed.
Thank goodness, because I'm  not a big fan of wearing high heels unless I'm going out and as for pearls, again they are for special occasions. Now as for the defender of family, I could take on the entire Taliban and I'd kick their collective asses if they tried to hurt my kids, but you wouldn't hear June Cleaver say that. She'd bake them a pie and offer to iron their robes. Of course, I doubt the actress would do so.
The point is moms (and dads) are flawed and it's fine. In fact, it's normal. 
So what that you can't clean the house, do the grocery shopping, clean, fold, and put away the laundry, make a pot roast with vegetables that everyone will be happy to eat and run the kids to school all before noon AND do it all with a smile and freshly ironed clothes.
Hey, I don't own much that I have to iron, jeans and t-shirts are my usual style and most meals with vegetables, even the ones they like, start with "but I wanted candy for dinner."
And yet, we as parents, find ourselves thinking we don't do enough, be enough, worth enough when we're all attempting the hardest job in the universe--the ultimate in on-the-job training--raising our children.
So the next time you think you're supposed to be like June Cleaver or even Martha Stewart--remember this: June Cleaver is a fictious character and everything she served was prepared by someone else. And Martha? Well, I don't think she has time for much housework so ironic how she tells you how to keep yours, isn't it?
Basically, appreciate what you do everyday--love and care for your children. After that, the rest is superficial.

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