Donna Reed Revisited?

I am absolutely, without a doubt, dating myself, but that’s okay. Those of you reading this know I’m seventy, and happy. A few aches and pains, but I’m okay. 

I grew up in a family of ten. My dad worked while my mom kept the house. With ten of us, and because the first four or five kids were only eighteen months apart, there were plenty of diapers, bottles and naps. It was only later in life when mom worked, and even later in life after dad became disabled did she learn to drive a car and when she wrote her first check. Quite a jump for her in her later years. 

I grew up watching a black and white TV. I remember tinfoil on the antenna, and the remote was one of us walking to the set and changing the channel by hand. 

Besides Howdy Doody, Wagon Train, and Captain Kangaroo (before the shows became colorized), we watched the Donna Reed Show. She was a homemaker like my mom, except my mom never wore pearls or high-heel shoes to vacuum the carpet. 

Like most of you, I listened to Harrison Butker’s commencement address, and I came away more sad than disgusted, though I was plenty disgusted. The speech was classic, far right evangelical in content, and it fit with the GOP’s Project 2025 Platform. You know, women need to be seen, not heard, stay in the kitchen and have babies. He even said- paraphrasing- that a woman’s life isn’t fulfilled unless and until she is married and has kids to raise.

My mom wasn’t happy as a stay-at-home mom back in the forties and fifties. And back then, my older sisters had four options: become a hairdresser/stylist, a nurse, a secretary, or a teacher. Further, back then, they were looked down upon by society unless they were married and had children.

A woman’s life isn’t fulfilled unless and until she is married and has kids to raise – according to a guy who kicks a football for a living.  

My daughters, Hannah and Emily, went to college and both have a master’s degree. Hannah is a teacher and team lead, while Emily is a social worker. Hannah is married and has one child (so far), Mason, while Emily will get married June 8^th.

I’m absolutely proud of both girls. And I can safely say, both Hannah and Emily were happy before they got married, and are happy now. Both feel fulfilled. It didn’t take Alex to make Hannah’s life fulfilled, and it won’t take Q to make Emily’s life fulfilled. 

Is Hannah happy being married to Alex? Absolutely! Will Emily be happy married to Q? For sure! But neither guy- and I’m proud to call them both my son-in-laws (one now and one to be) - “made” Hannah’s and Emily’s life fulfilled. My daughters did that on their own and will continue to do that even now, together with their husbands. One didn’t make the other. NOR SHOULD IT! 

If a woman stays home and cares for her children, God Bless her! She has every right to do so, and no one should look down on her for doing that. If a woman puts a career first whether she has children and leans on day care to make it work, God Bless her! No one should look down on her for doing that. 

A woman, any woman, has rights and those rights need to be respected. A woman has thoughts- yeah, I know, a foreign concept to some Neanderthals pushing the Project 2025 platform. Just as a woman has the right to vote, a woman should have her own say about what takes place with her body! It is her right to choose, and hers alone. A woman has a choice whether to work or stay home and raise kids. It’s her choice, a decision she makes with her husband, but ultimately, it’s her choice. Respect that.  

A woman is not a second-class citizen, and a woman has no fewer rights than a man. That’s the way it should be. Whether they marry or not, have kids or not, stay home and raise kids or not- it is their choice and she can have a fulfilling life doing either or both. 

Some guy who kicks a football for a living is entitled to his opinion. I happen to disagree with him on several issues he spouted off about, but like I said, he is entitled to his opinion, just as I am entitled to mine.

But for this kicker to state his opinion in front of women on an otherwise joyous occasion, and who earned a college degree, even a master’s degree, put a damper on the elation they felt. And this coming from a guy whose mom managed to raise him along with becoming a physicist. Never met him and I never met her, but I would wager she has and had a fulfilled life. Something to think about … 

Live YOUR Life- whatever you choose to do, and Make A Difference! 

To My Readers: 

If you like what you’re reading and find a benefit from it, you can check out my other posts on my Website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com under the Inspirational Blog tab. You can find all nine books, their descriptions, and links for purchase at the same site. 

I can also be found on TikTok by searching for @josephlewis5566 on Tribal by searching for @jrauthor85  on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557592103627   on Substack at https://tinyurl.com/2m5ckdvh 

Last, my book, Blaze In, Blaze Out, is FREE for a limited time on BookFunnel for just a short time. Yes, FREE!

Action Thriller of the Year (BestThrillers Book Awards)

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https://books.bookfunnel.com/aprilthrillerreads/vlr454vqtl  

“Blaze In, Blaze Out is an over-the-top thriller. Lewis jumps you seamlessly between timelines of one exhilarating roller-coaster ride to the next.” -Authors Reading 

“Blaze in, Blaze out with its engaging plot and deep themes is a riveting novel and fast read that will keep readers in suspense and hooked till the last page.” -Literary Titan

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