Smoothing Out the Rough Edges: Domestic Goddess Style
Heather has a Bachelor's Degree in English from Moravian College and has been freelance writing for more than 13 years.
Picture this story of ordinarily epic proportions
To decide for yourself to see its true merit
Boy meets girl, and they eventually get married
Have children and the lady takes a backseat to their family
The definition of the typical nuclear suburban unit
Faltering under the strain of the perfect illusion
A tale as old as time itself and rather cliched at best
Full of familiar troupes and rollercoaster emotions
Can't have too many consistent days and moods
One minute up in the clouds; down in the dumps the next
Embodied the dreams of the deluded and clueless
Head of full of stardust and forgotten stereotypes
Needing to please everyone, while burying individual desires
Standing by a man who deserved to be kicked to the curb
Not acting like a real life flesh and blood Tammy Wynette
Envisioned the original domestic goddess Hestia
Who symbolized literally the heart of the home
Wondered if there was more to the story than just that
Will never find out the truth beyond the myth
Society and literature deemed such exploratory searches unworthy
In order to preserve such an unsolved mystery for the better
Not sure for who though; many women still believe this facade
Unlike the 1950s, family structure not as rigid as it once was
Pressure to succeed still existed; not as strong as the 1960s
Realized that keeping up appearances a lot more challenging
Hard to tell the difference between fantasy and reality
Like most little girls, and even younger women, in any story
Longed for a happily ever after with the local handsome prince
Real life figures like Betty Broderick became infamous
When the paper thin mirage imploded before their eyes
Causing their once strong sanity to crumbled under the weight
Lead to a shocking and newsworthy tabloid crime
Numerous years of keeping up appearances and pleasing others
Destroyed what individuality was left to hold onto
Determined to not fall into the trap of falling apart when rug pulled
Hitting the pavement face first with full force
Embarrassed to not see it coming; eager to not slip into the abyss
Desiring to rise from the ashes of putting up a partial front
Covering up too many wants and needs for sake of not being alone
Giving up the eagerness to appear more desirable
Time to be the woman outside of the illusory narrative forced upon them
Creating a more realistic version where men can be domestic
Women can enjoy sports and be the breadwinner
Ripping the stereotype to shreds and coming to terms with the past
Burying it into the cold ground once and for all
Just what the doctor ordered to move onto the next chapter
A definite page turner if there was ever one.