Our Own Little Mrs. Ward Cleaver

I just love blogging, no kidding! I love seeing the various things that our kids are thinking about as they share them with us. They have allowed me to swipe whatever I want to share with you so here is one I love that Laura wrote. This brings back so many memories, thanks Loulou!

This post was published back in the beginning of 09. I had forgotten all about it until it came up at the bottom of my last post on Linkwithin. I love that feature on a blog because it does uncover some moldy oldies worth republishing on busy days. So here's Laauurra!

Our Little Mrs. Cleaver

The June Cleaver in Me

"One of the great things about living in a foreign country is that when you turn on the TV everything is... well, foreign. Since I'm not really into TV it works for me but the boys don't like it much. So a few months ago we started looking online for some good TV sitcom DVD collections for the boys to watch. Among the thousands (literally, T-H-O-U-S-A-N-D-S) of options available Robert and I decided to get the first season of Leave it to Beaver.

If you haven't seen Leave it to Beaver in a while- it worth revisiting. I will admit it is a little bit on the cheesy side but it is funny and clean and totally... boy! I have to confess that I love that the boys like it. I love hearing Spencer say "Ah, gee Mom" when I ask him to do something he doesn't want to do and hearing Ross tell me everything is "swell" when I ask him how his day was. I even enjoy watching a episode or two with Spencer and Ross on occasion. But the thing that I really like about Leave it to Beaver is watching June Cleaver in her role as wife and mother.

I don't know about you but I grew up thinking June Cleaver (as the embodiment of the female stay at home mom stereotype) was laughable. Not only did I think she was impractically perfect- I was offended that was the way media thought stay at home moms should be! I thought the sole purpose of her existence was to make normal women ( who clean the house in ratty sweats and occasionally yell at their kids) feel inadequate. Never in my young adult imagination did I ever considered June Cleaver a role model in anyway... but that was before. Having watched her in action recently I have changed my tune.


Here is what I have noticed about June Cleaver. She is patient and kind with her children. She is loving toward her husband. She is witty and spontaneous (in a very traditional sort of way). She is intelligent (though a little too easily tricked by her boys at times). She expects a lot from the people she loves but never turns her back on them when the don't measure up. June Cleaver is perfectly content in her role as a wife and mother. She is never bitter or resentful that her stay at home life style is keeping her from getting the job she always wanted or spending more time with her friends. Her house is spotlessly clean, her yard perfectly manicured, her appearance immaculate. She has snacks ready and waiting when her boys get home from school and dinner on the table every night when her husband gets hom e from work. I mean seriously- isn't that what every woman wants? To be perfectly capable and fulfilled in their role as a woman? To feel as put together and on top of life as June appears to be? I don't know about you but that certainly sounds good to me.


So I've decided to spend some time finding the June Cleaver in me. I know she is in there somewhere- that beautiful, content, fulfilled woman I've always wanted to be. I'll let you know when I find her."

Now, Laura, you know I always dressed and acted like June and cleaned our house in a dress, pearls, apron and heels. All this occurred while you and your siblings played with each other in perfect harmony so I never had to yell at you. And Daddy brought home the bacon arriving promptly at 6:00 pm (with his speckled sport coat and tie on and a calm and happy face) to his steaming hot and delicious dinner!

June and Ward's
Wally and 'The Beave"

A moment of silence,
Barbara Billingsley
who played June Cleaver
passed away at age 94
on October 16, 2010.