Well, well, well

Quite honestly, Im left a bit stunned after last night's episode. I think one houswive's husband said it best, when he told her it was "sad" that she felt the need to compete by accumulating material things. (This was the discussion about "downsizing" to a 4000 square foot home, and how that made her feel like a "failure"...not to be confused by their conversation over the budget for landscaping the backyard...he wanted to cap it at $150,000, but she felt strongly about having a "fire and ice" volcano in the pool, and dishwasher next to the outdoor BBQ and refridgerator, even if such luxuries pushed the backyard budget to $400,000) AYE CARUMBA!

I dont want to judge these gals too much, because if my son was living with my new-live-in-boyfriend's ex-wife (did you follow that?) or was wanting to move back in, but my new hubby didnt want him to, or was terrorizing the community via golf cart romps-to the point the community board put restrictions on him, or my young daughters were getting all gussied up for a night at the Playboy Mansion...well, Id be downing jello shots too. That's not to say that wont happen, my kids are still young, and heck, sometimes even now they bring me to the verge of drinking....but who knows how my kids will behave as teens/young adults.... My point, is that I dont envy their lives. If that's what great, high living is all about, no thanks.

I will point out one little tidbit from last night that was TRUE and REALLY BUGS ME.....although it was such a tiny thing, perhaps nobody else noticed....but *I* noticed, because it's become my pet peeve (pun intended)...was when one mom and her son went to lunch, and they commented that the restaurant allows them to bring their dog. In case anyone forgot to read the HEALTH CODE, that is against the law. But apparently a lot of people around my town have forgotten all about LAW, becaues I see people bringing their dogs EVERYWHERE, including restaurants and the grocery store. They carry their little Fifi's around, or drag them along by leash.....and besides the LAW, there is that little know fact that DOGS GO POTTY! Anyways, when I saw that last night, I thought, "They should do a whole episode on how people worship their pets and bring them everywhere" .....

As for the rest of the show, rather than nit pick all the things that horrified me, Ill just tell you a little bit about the MAJORITY of people that live here, things that they dont show on THAT SHOW:

Lots of gals that I know, are part of home Bible studies. Yes, women gathering together with friends and neighbors, to study the Bible. I know many that have morning groups, or evening get-togethers....sometimes with husbands, sometimes just the girls....and the reason? To grow in their knowledge of God, and to live a life that is pleasing to Him. To learn how to set priorities that are healthy, to gain insight into raising children who are honorable, to develop a better understanding of marriage and how to make it work. It might sound boring, but I wish someone would focus on the woman that work really hard to try to do things in a way that is good and wholesome.

Ive already shown you the real moms, their wrinkles, their down-to-earth work ethic.....and I mentioned that Housewife #1 does a great deal for charity. The truth of the matter, is that my entire community is quite charitable. I know so many women that do volunteer work on a regular basis, go on mission trips with their families, raise money for those in need, collect donations to assist the poor and hungry from around the world...I would love an episode to focus on the good-heartedness of the women in my town, that's what REAL life is all about.

By and large, most people in my neighborhood set limits for their kids. The exception might be the lady at the pool the other day...her daughter and friends (young teens?) were purposely disrupting Andrew's swim lesson. It was a holiday, and the instructor had a small portion of the pool (we have more than a dozen pools here, so there is no shortage of water space)...but even at this pool, he had a small area, and the teens had the rest of the pool to themselves. But they thought it would be fun to keep bumping into Andrew and the instructor, giggling about it. The instructor, an Olympic swimmer I might add, asked them many times to please move. Finally, I said, "Girls, please! He has asked you many times to use the rest of the pool, you have the entire pool to yourselves, why must you use this small area?" They played dumb, and laughed.....and then their mom came over to defend them. It was suddenly crystal clear why these children were disrespectful brats, as their mom sounded like a tuba, WHAA WHAA WHAA-ing about "dont talk to my daughter that way".....but aside from her, and perhaps a few others....MOST moms here do set limits, and there are dads in most families too...dads that are involved. Letting kids have parties with alcohol, sending them off to "South Beach" in Miama, letting them race motorcycles on the main street....I dont know many friends that would EVER let those things happen. ever. And then, its a big mystery when these kids end up in juvenile hall, or jobless, or dating a guy who raises pitbulls (and then the daughter gets a tattoo of the pit bull breeding company, but then breaks up with the guy...HELLO tattoos are FOREVER...too bad marriages arent!)...but I digress....

I dont quite know what bugged me most about last nights show, there was so much, but I came away feeling saddened by the portrayal of lives, lives that seem different from the many people I call "friend" around these parts of the OC.