Thursday, January 20, 2011

The Real Housewives

"She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat of the bread of idleness." ~ Proverbs 31:25-27



I have a guilty pleasure. Seriously, I do....I LOVE the TV Reality shows "The Real Housewives".....doesn't matter which county they're from. I love 'em all....Atlanta, New Jersey, Beverly Hills, Orange County. DC....I'm addicted!!!!  I can get completely lost in a Housewives Marathon and  lose hours of my day! I'm not sure what fascinates me most, their money? their drama? their lifestyles? their cat-fights?

It all seems so UNreal to me. I was thinking last night, late last night, after I'd stayed up to watch the Season Finale of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills". I lay there mulling over the events of the past few weeks and what my reality looks like. You might have noticed I haven't blogged for a the past few weeks?

Reality for me went something like this.....

*Christmas Eve Day I woke up with a nasty headcold. A misunderstanding with my husband led to an all day event. I prepared Christmas delights and delicasies for guests who arrived 2 hours late. I needed medication for this raging headcold and announced that now  I needed "to go the store along with everything else I needed to do"...hint hint....no one volunteered and so I grumbled "I'll do it myself!" and slammed the door on my way out for emphasis!


*Christmas Eve, my feelings still hurting, and honestly, feeling a bit sorry for myself, we dressed in our Christmas attire then  headed for Christmas Eve service. We joined the festivities with smiles smeared on our faces , hugged, and wished everyone a Merry Christmas. Later that evening, Chris  fell asleep in his chair, I tucked beautifully, wrapped gifts under the tree.....alone. sniff sniff  :'(

*Later that week, my daughter and her long term boyfriend parted ways....unexpectedly. She was hurt, stunned, emotional, heartbroken....and so were we. Dumbfounded is a good word. We have all struggled since then to understand and move on. Her reality looks different now and  she's trying to find her way to a new happy place has really been a challenge.

In additon to those realities, here are some others we sampled.....

*Although I love my job, it has no longer becoming financially feasible to accomodate my family. There are other factors that certainly play into the equation also. After much prayer, discussion, thought and some tears, we have decided the best thing for me, for us, is to close the daycare and find full time employment. It was not a decision that came easily. It's going to be super-hard  for me to say goodbye to these babies and their families.

*Chelsea, celebrated her Sweet 16th. It was a joyous occassion I'm pleased to say!!! A bonfire, great kids, lots of laughs. Definitely a day set aside for a Princess!!!!

*Days later though, Chelsea who had been fighting one cold after another, possibly mono and  taken many trips to the doctor was diagnosed with pneumonia and an ear infection. She spent the next ten days  in bed, gulping antibiotics, hooked up to a nebulizer every 4 hours and crying "when will I feel better? ". On what should have been her first day back to school, she looked at me, said "I don't feel right" and proceeded to heave into her waste basket.

Ugh. U.G.H.

So maybe that's why I find the reality show so appealing? There are no money fears, no hurt feelings, no vomit, at least not that they show you. So, I avoided the computer, I avoided the blog, I avoided the truth.

REALITY  is ....

messy
hurtful
exhausting
frustrating
beautiful
challenging
changing
complicated

That's what the reality of this  REAL HOUSEWIFE looks like. What's yours?
Dear God~

Thank YOU for being real. Thank you for listening to my whines and whimpers, my frustrations and my fears. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be REAL with you.  In Jesus' name,  Amen.



Hugs!
Michelle

1 comment:

  1. Reason I detest most reality shows is because they are not about reality. Ha. Chel, you live in the real world, these women have no clue as to what that is.

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