Mrs Wonderful
Just in case we didn't have enough to feel insecure about, along comes Sarah Palin - John McCain's running mate. I feel exhausted just reading about her. An interesting comment on how objectified even women at the top of their game are is the Palin/gun/bikini photo in this morning's Sunday Times. Yee-hah. When she isn't shooting furry creatures she is popping out five children, all with hearty names like Biff, Baff, Boff, playing basketball (nickname Barracuda), and being the Republican Vice-President. Nightmare. We have one of these 'Mrs Wonderful' dolls at home - she has a bunch of phrases ('My friends think you're hot ... isn't that cool!', 'Don't worry dear, I forgot it was our anniversary too'). The two year old loves her (he has a really fruity laugh just like Sid James). Hopefully he appreciates the irony (they're not phrases he's ever heard at home), and he won't subliminally remember her as the ideal woman. I've been known to kick her across the room on occasion.
Nothing changes it seems. A recent survey said that men wanted someone who would a) take care of the home, b) cook c) clean and d) be a good parent. Women apparently wanted the financial stability of a retrosexual as discussed in the earlier post 'Light my Fire'. Is it just me or is something obvious missing from this list of wants? How about the old favourite - GSOH, friendship or indeed GIB (good in bed together?) It strikes me that if you can laugh together and still fancy the pants off one another any marriage stands a better chance. Think of Jerry Hall's retro take on the ideal wife - lady in the drawing room, chef in the kitchen and ... you can probably figure out the bedroom part. Being the perfect woman sadly didn't help stop old Mick straying.
I wondered where that leaves us as writers and parents? Nowhere in the list of wants does it say 'someone who lives in their head a great deal of time, frantically scribbles notes on envelopes, disappears into the basement/shed/study for hours at a time'. It certainly works for us that only one of us has a creative job - I wonder how many of you live with 'normal' people as opposed to writers or artists? I am beyond glad to see the pilot back from Colombo tonight. Whenever he's on his way home, it's like an out-take from 'Wives and Lovers' - frantic dash to look half presentable (I'm rather conscious he spends his working life surrounded by women who are paid to be the archetype of Ms Wonderful - fragrant, attentive and pushing a hostess trolley). Actually my mother, who would put Mrs Wonderful to shame - (cordon bleu trained, classical pianist, great seamstress, devoted stay at home Mum etc), desperately wanted to give me a hostess trolley as a wedding present. I resisted. Even now, when we visit, the metallic slide of the cover and the chink of the glass bowls remind me of hundreds of family dinners. Maybe I should have listened to mother after all.
TODAY'S PROMPT: When was the last time you did something special for the significant others who have supported you in your writing - whether that is a boy/girlfriend, wife/husband or friends and family who have tolerated your moods, neuroses, and all the hours spent writing when you could have been having fun with them? A bunch of flowers, a favourite meal - even a simple thank you would probably go down pretty well this weekend. Here's mine (the pilot has started subscribing so it will be interesting to see if he reads this!): at the end of a long hard summer, thank you to the pilot for being a fantastic father, husband and friend - and for all the hours you've taken care of the kids while I've been writing, or listened to me wittering on about 'The Book' We're almost there. As Stephen King said, 'life isn't a support system for art - it's the other way round'. Who do you want to say thanks to?
Nothing changes it seems. A recent survey said that men wanted someone who would a) take care of the home, b) cook c) clean and d) be a good parent. Women apparently wanted the financial stability of a retrosexual as discussed in the earlier post 'Light my Fire'. Is it just me or is something obvious missing from this list of wants? How about the old favourite - GSOH, friendship or indeed GIB (good in bed together?) It strikes me that if you can laugh together and still fancy the pants off one another any marriage stands a better chance. Think of Jerry Hall's retro take on the ideal wife - lady in the drawing room, chef in the kitchen and ... you can probably figure out the bedroom part. Being the perfect woman sadly didn't help stop old Mick straying.
I wondered where that leaves us as writers and parents? Nowhere in the list of wants does it say 'someone who lives in their head a great deal of time, frantically scribbles notes on envelopes, disappears into the basement/shed/study for hours at a time'. It certainly works for us that only one of us has a creative job - I wonder how many of you live with 'normal' people as opposed to writers or artists? I am beyond glad to see the pilot back from Colombo tonight. Whenever he's on his way home, it's like an out-take from 'Wives and Lovers' - frantic dash to look half presentable (I'm rather conscious he spends his working life surrounded by women who are paid to be the archetype of Ms Wonderful - fragrant, attentive and pushing a hostess trolley). Actually my mother, who would put Mrs Wonderful to shame - (cordon bleu trained, classical pianist, great seamstress, devoted stay at home Mum etc), desperately wanted to give me a hostess trolley as a wedding present. I resisted. Even now, when we visit, the metallic slide of the cover and the chink of the glass bowls remind me of hundreds of family dinners. Maybe I should have listened to mother after all.
TODAY'S PROMPT: When was the last time you did something special for the significant others who have supported you in your writing - whether that is a boy/girlfriend, wife/husband or friends and family who have tolerated your moods, neuroses, and all the hours spent writing when you could have been having fun with them? A bunch of flowers, a favourite meal - even a simple thank you would probably go down pretty well this weekend. Here's mine (the pilot has started subscribing so it will be interesting to see if he reads this!): at the end of a long hard summer, thank you to the pilot for being a fantastic father, husband and friend - and for all the hours you've taken care of the kids while I've been writing, or listened to me wittering on about 'The Book' We're almost there. As Stephen King said, 'life isn't a support system for art - it's the other way round'. Who do you want to say thanks to?
