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.