Mourning the Demise of Donna Reed, Mrs. Cleaver and the like

Speaking of what I'd like to be when I grow up, all I ever wanted was to be a homemaker and raise a family.  I grew up in a close, loving family and my parents were excellent role models.  They made it look so easy.  I liked what I saw and wanted a stab at it.  A few obstacles reared their ugly heads along the way to my heart's desire.

All the time my siblings and I were growing up, my mother was fortunate enough (and her family even more so) to be able to stay home and raise her family.  The economy was such that she didn't need to go off to work to help pay the bills.  We were far from wealthy but I don't remember ever lacking for anything and I always felt very comfortable and well cared for.

This was such a happy environment that I, too, wanted to be a homemaker--never a housewife.  I believe these days this rare breed refers to itself as a domestic engineer!  I wanted at least three children, perhaps twins.  Shall we pause for a moment and say together, ignorance is bliss?  I wanted to have my own little house and yard and marry a man who'd love me and have a secure nine to five, Monday through Friday job.  This is the background in which I grew up and this is the life I sought.

A funny thing happened on the way to my adulthood and life as a newlywed.  Due to a myriad of circumstances, the economy went haywire and many of my rosy dreams crumbled like so much dust.  Women were flowing out into the work force in droves and before too long, it became necessacry for both husband and wife to hold down jobs in order to pay the monthly bills, mortgage, car payment, etc.  This was unless, of course, you happened to marry a person who was already financially secure.

I already had a job when I got married and I continued to work for the next four years until my first child was born.  I well remember being told by my co-workers, "oh, you'll be so bored.  You'll be back to work in no time!"  I listened and smiled pleasantly but I knew this would not be the case for me.  I had the joy and privilege of staying home for the next 12 years.  So I did indeed have the opportunity to realize my dream.  I have never understood the reasoning behind going off to work to make money to pay someone else to take care of your child if you don't have to.  Ah, but I know there are a great many women who love to work and wanted a career and find great fulfillment therein.  I've never been one of these women.  Two years after my second child was born, I had to wrench myself from the pleasant at-home life and go back to work and have had to do so ever since.

In deference to my title of this entry and my mother, while she was a stay-at-home mom, she was nothing remotely  similar to either Donna Reed or June Cleaver!  To have anyone think otherwise would be a huge defamation of her unique and most wonderful character.