Never Forget, Betty, A Good Wife Always Knows Her Place

Before I ever got married and before, of course, I had my kids, I used to dream of what life as a married mom would be like. I decided I would be exactly like Olivia Walton, the matriarch of The Waltons.. I would have eight kids, live on a farm or at least in the country. I would clean house, bake bread and be adored by my entire family. I would be respected in my community for being a great lady, full of wisdom and kindness. I would let my hair grow and wear it up in a nice chignon and never never wear anything but dresses. My husband would remain romantic and adoring. My life would be absolute heaven.

I would be..
Olivia Walton.

Man, was I ever wrong! I live in a community in the burbs. I have two kids. I work and have worked most of my adult life. A farm?? Forget that! Tho I do have a sweet but large dog,



a cat justifiably nicknamed El Diablo,



and of course, my two lizards.



I cannot picture Olivia Walton feeding crickets to lizards. I can't picture Olivia Walton hunting down teenagers in the middle of the night. I cannot picture Olivia Walton cussing through gritted teeth.

Obviously, I am not..
Olivia Walton.

I was thinking about that long ago dream, just this morning. Why in God's name would I ever have wanted to be like Olivia Walton??? Heck, I don't even think Olivia Walton wanted to be Olivia Walton! The poor lady was pregnant most of her adult life and when she wasn't pregnant, she was picking up after the kids.

Thank God I was not alive during that time. And things got worse for women over the next few decades. We all know about the fifties when women were supposed to clean house in heels and a flowing dress, when hair was always curled, meals were always on time, kids were always clean and warned to be quiet when daddy got home from a long day at work. When men made all the decisions and women just agreed with all those decisions in the name of being..
The Good Little Wife.

I recently came upon this cute little video. I laughed out loud several times..I probably should have cried, because I think it's (sadly) a fairly accurate description of the way things used to be:



Did you hear that last line? Did you hear it??

"Never forget, Betty, a good wife always knows her place."

I ask you, what kind of crap is that? First of all did you notice how that woman looked while getting her beauty sleep so she's refreshed for Tarzan? Now, lets be real. this is more what I personally look like during a nap.



And whats that 15 minute nap business? Two hours is my personal minimum. And if I happen to be sleeping still when Tarzan makes his grand jump off his vine and through the front door? Well, maybe he can get Cheeta to fix dinner.