The other day I was sitting with a friend and we were chatting about how we measure our homes against some kind of invisible standard. We were trying to figure out where we get the idea that things should look perfect with 2 or 3 little kids running around the house, destroying things like vermin.
We talked about “Leave it to Beaver” and “The Cosby Show” and those idealistic environments that we grew up observing. ON TV. Why is it that we remember the TV homes better than we remember our own? I think that perhaps my mom got things under control just around the time that I started having conscious memories, because I do NOT remember our house looking like a toy bomb had detonated on a barnyard floor. Of course, I do remember this lady named Agnes who came and cleaned the home, which could have had something to do with it.
So this got me thinking about where the images of perfection are coming from these days. People try to urge us not to pay attention to air-brushed models and impossible standards of physical beauty in magazines. I think perhaps the same could be said for the home environments presented on TV. We watch an orange juice commercial and feel inadequate because our kitchens don’t look like that. Even people who have lives that are seemingly “out of control” have all stainless steel appliances and beautiful back splashes; "Reality" TV shows are shot in million dollar mansions.
I think the show Modern Family is depressing me a little bit. Sure it does depict some different family set-ups and tries to reflect a more diverse demographic. But maybe it should be called “Modern Wealthy Family” or something like that. The homes are stunning and even the one with the 3 children may be busy but immaculate. Really, Modern Family, REALLY?
So then there is the idea that maybe we should all just let each other see our homes as they really are, and not clean for an hour before company comes over. (Okay. I am making it sound like I am only cleaning for an hour to seem like I have it more together than I do. More like 3 hours.) Anyway, I don’t think that is ever going to fly because people want to have pride in their homes. I get that. It’s just that I don’t know what the solution is.
Perhaps we need some more robot appliances. Sometimes I feel like my robot vacuum is another person who has come to help me clean the house. I could start calling her Agnes. I need a robot duster (Shirley?) , laundry folder (Madge?) and table clearer (Robbie?) too.
The other invention I have thought about is called Mommy Blinders ™. It is basically like these blinders that you would put on a horse, but moms wear them around the house so that they don’t have to see all the mess. You can just stay focused on a miniscule part of your home without having to take in all of the additional clutter. Wouldn’t that be great?
I’m not sure what will really solve this problem. Sitting here typing a blog post while I drink a coffee probably won’t do the trick. And I certainly don’t want to stop watching Modern Family, because I secretly pretend they are my funny friends. Okay so now it’s not a secret. What to do. What to do.
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