june cleaver

so i'm sitting with the family watching the VOICE when a commercial comes on for the new dyson vacuums...which are admittedly somewhat cool looking for an outrageously expensive cleaning tool.....when the tag line shows up that says...."on sale now, thru mother's day".

now i admit that i am not a giant fan of housework - i mean really, who is?  well ok, besides my mom - and maybe kris ohler, who somehow ended up adopting my mom's scary vacuuming in triangles thing....UGH.  anyway, i can honestly say i was completely taken aback by that commercial....all i can think is REALLY???  what freakin YEAR is this??  is it AT ALL APPROPRIATE that someone is advertising a cleaning tool as a great mothers day gift??  lets celebrate the awesome job you are doing RAISING YOUR CHILDREN by buying you something to clean up after them with???? um, no thank you.

again, i realize that there are many women out there who take a great deal of pride in keeping a lovely and clean home - and who consider it a part of their job.....and if that's the case, then a) go you and b) you probably would appreciate a high end vacuum cleaner - but i 'm pretty sure its still not an appropriate MOTHERS DAY GIFT....its like saying, you really only deserve something that helps you take better care of me...as opposed to something cool or relaxing or i dont know, PERSONAL.....

My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint."
-- Erma Bombeck

here's where my tirade takes a turn....i firmly believe that the women's movement was the worst thing that ever happened to women....well, maybe not the worst exactly, but it created this completely unrealistic expectation where women are supposed to play the role of the traditional stay at home mom AND earn a working woman's salary..... this is where i should say that my mom stayed home....and i appreciated that more than i can tell you....and i would say that my parents had the traditional roles down pat....my dad worked hard, and worked overtime if thats what was necessary so that my mom could stay home.....he mowed the lawn and paid the bills and generally fixed all the stuff that ever broke....ward cleaver jobs.....and my mother took care of the kids and the house and kept our household running like a well oiled machine....she cooked dinner every night and cleaned the house EVERYDAY.....it was (and still is)  a partnership...it certainly wasnt always perfect, but they each played a role and did their job as it was defined within our family.  and its funny because i'm sure my mother probably didnt like being so dependent on my dad....and that was the downside - women wanted more, deserved more than to be so singularly defined.

HOWEVER, what apparently happened was women started fighting the work fight - which again, i'm in no way opposed to just for the record.....and yet when it came time to have a family, somehow the burden of childrearing still fell mostly on the shoulders of the mom.....so here we are today - supposedly equal, right?  yet now instead of JUST working or JUST raising our kids, we are all doing BOTH...and i dont know about you guys, but i find it EXHAUSTING!   and i'm so super offended that some asshat in some marketing company thinks its okay to try to sell my family a fucking vacuum as a PRESENT for mothers day.  i can't imagine they are going to run that same special for fathers day, now are they??  my husband is fully capable of running a damn vacuum - and while im at it, we pay someone to clean the freakin house anyway since neither of us has the time!!!  should i buy my cleaning lady a vacuum for mothers day???  i'm sure she'd rather have a damn day off, or flowers, or a massage - just like the rest of us!

"Consider the "new" woman. She's trying to be Pollyanna Borgia, clearly a conflict of interest. She's supposed to be a ruthless winner at work and a bundle of nurturing sweetness at home."
-- Rita Mae Brown

its just one of those things that CLEARLY strikes a nerve....maybe everyone else out there is perfectly happy with our progress.....i just find it still so patronizing.....i know there are men out there who are single dads or primary caregivers or even super helpful husbands....im not man bashing in any way....what im saying is that while i think women have made huge strides in the workplace, they have never given up the responsibility in the  home - and probably never will.....and probably shouldn't if it comes to that....i love being a mom more than anything else in the world....and i will consider myself a completely successful person in this life if my kids grow up to be happy (and lets throw in self sufficient).....i dont need to define myself by the job i do OUTSIDE of the house....but we have created an environment where its almost impossible to have a one income family anymore....traditional roles be damned - who can afford them??  and still that stupid marketing guy thinks i want a VACUUM cleaner??? 

who knew a commercial would throw me over the edge?  you never know these days what's gonna do it :)  all i do know is that being a woman of a certain age has certain advantages.....and while number one is being able to speak my mind.....number two is definitely NOT having to pick up anyone elses shit if i dont feel like it!!  i hope that marketing guy buys his wife a super expensive dyson vacuum for mothers day....and she beats his ass with it! 

hows that for sunshine & light :)