Ok, so I'm not quite June Cleaver

I don't wear fou-fou little 'day dresses' and I don't have two rowdy boys to look after. (I DO however, have a lovely set of pearls that Ziggy got me for Christmas one year. I don't wear 'em while vacuuming, though.)

But I have to admit...I'm close. I love being a 'housewife'.

Ok. So I'm not exactly a wife. It's all there except for that little piece of paper, though. And frankly, that little piece of paper isn't worth a damn if the other stuff isn't there.

But I love taking care of Ziggy and the house.

What set me off on this strange (for me, anyway) tangent? A post by a very smart

cookie

, who also happens to like being a mom and a housewife.

The funny thing is, that this is all I've ever really wanted to do. I just didn't have the opportunity when it really would have mattered...when I was raising my daughter.

I guess I wasn't your 'traditional' feminist baby-boomer who thought I'd set the world on fire with my intelligence and/or talent. I always thought that all that 'feminist' crap was just...dumb...other than the 'equal pay for equal work' thing. I never expected (or wanted) to break through the 'glass ceiling'. Hell, I'd have just probably cut the crap outa myself, anyway.

I never believed that burnin the ole 38DD would be a good thing. I've never believed (and still don't) that a woman can 'have it all'. SOMEthing or SOMEone's gonna suffer. The kids. The marriage. The job. The sanity.

I've always believed that there's an intrinsic difference (thank gawd!) in men and women and the people who were screaming otherwise were waaaay off base. Not exactly how a proper feminist should think back in the early 70's. Maybe I watched too much 'Donna Reed'..I dunno.

I started working when I was fourteen at a local A & W as a carhop. With the exception of a few weeks or months off here and there, I've ALWAYS worked. At first, it was for extra spending money. After I was married, it became a necessity as my ex wasn't exactly...ah...shall we say dependable?...when it came to keepin a job. There were even several times when I had a full-time AND a part-time job. And I continued to work pretty much full time AND go to college, first to get my LPN certification, then to get my RN degree.

Now, none of that would have been so bad, really. Except for the fact that I ALSO was expected to pretty much keep the ole homestead goin, too. Oh, the ex helped...some. But most of it fell on my shoulders. The majority of the cooking, cleaning, laundry, child-rearing, bill-payin...all the general household stuff was MY responsibility. I was also tryin to take care of my aging, crazy mother, which at times, was a full-time job in itself. His main job was the yard work.

Pretty good deal if ya can get it, huh?

I've never wanted lots of things, really. The ex did, though, and I just kinda got sucked into that mindset. The nice home. The expensive car. The big vacations. All the things that most people seem to think are sooo important. Things that people work soooo hard for. Things that really don't matter. Not one single bit, when it comes right down to it.

A little over a year ago, I started to have some pretty serious medical problems and I quit nursing. Just wasn't physically able to handle it anymore. I wasn't mentally able to handle it anymore, either...but that's beside the point. If I'd have been physically able, I'd have kept at it until...well...until I went crazy, probably.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I've not pulled my weight financially in this relationship...even when I was working, really. After I quit, I felt even guiltier. Still do, some. Maybe that's why I've turned into June...kinda.

I figure that if Ziggy brings home the bacon, then I'll damn sure cook it for him. I'll bend over backwards (I'm talkin figuratively...haven't tried THAT particular position...yet) to make sure his homelife is stress-free, relaxed, comfortable and...well, as wonderful as I can make it.

No, I don't have a child to take care of. No, I don't have a huge home or yard to take care of. Yea, I'm here and can do pretty much what I want, when I want and I'm not out bustin my ass at some job I detest. I'm not an immaculate housekeeper, but, I DO work at it. I do all the grocery shoppin, cleaning, meal prep, laundry and general upkeep. I run errands for him, if it's something I can do. I even shop for his clothes.

To quote a Buffet song that we like to sing to each other, "It's my job." (Ok, you Parrotheads...I KNOW it's really a Mac McAnally song...but it's on a Buffet CD.)

Don't get me wrong...Zig helped me tremendously around here when I was working. And he still offers to help, on occasion. I'm pretty sure he appreciates what I do for him, even though I don't exactly wait on him hand and foot. I know he'd probably appreciate it a lot more if I could just win that lottery too, though. Hey...it could happen. If I could remember to buy the damn tickets.

My point is, I don't expect him to do one, single thing around here. Well..except take out the trash. And then, only if it's on his way to the car.

That's his job.

Well, he does have one other job around here. But since I know it makes people hinky when I talk about our sex life, I won't go into that.