The Real Housewives of Iowa????

A few years ago I was sick with a terrible cold and I stayed home from work.  I spent my day on the living room couch and it was that day that I happened upon the t.v. show "The Real Housewives of Orange County."  As luck would have it they were running all of the season's episodes back to back.  I watched these, while drifting in and out of sleep, and I could hardly believe what I was watching.  First of all it is a reality t.v. show so who knows what is set up and what is not.  What I did take away from this is that these are not what I would call housewives.  When you live in larger than life houses that cost millions of dollars, have nannies, maids, drive luxury vehicles, buy expensive jewelry, feel the need to transform your body through plastic surgery, eat in expensive restaurants, only wear designer clothes, well I found it hard to compare myself to these women. 

Several weeks ago I was searching for something to watch while I was working in my kitchen and I happened upon the last two episodes of this season's "The Real Housewives of Orange County."  The recession was affecting the housewives of Orange County. They were having to cut back on eating out.  One wife had to let the maid go and was having to clean her own home and in one case they were going to lose their house if they didn't find a buyer soon.  They were upside down in their mortgage.  The husband sold luxury cars for a living and unfortunately for his family, no one was buying luxury cars.  One of the families had been living well beyond their means and in one scene a wife had complained that she had to actually do her own hair. 

It was hard for me to feel sorry for these women as they had been living the good life for a very long time. 

These women are not the typical housewife, yet who would actually watch a reality t.v. show called "The Real Housewives of Iowa?"  I can't imagine being followed around by a t.v. crew filming me making my own laundry detergent, washing clothes and hanging them out on the clothes line to dry.  Maybe they would film me clipping and sorting coupons, pouring over the grocery ads and making up a grocery list.  The fun would be to have them follow me into the store to load the cart, put some things back and finally make my way to the checkout.  Ooooh - couldn't you see people tuning in week after week to watch this? 

Then they could film me cleaning the bathroom and zoom in on cleaning the toilet.  Every now and then there would be lunch out with a friend at Subway, but no big three day shopping trips to a resort town.  There would be days of sewing and mending, helping my DS with his homework, baking bread and best of all walking the dog and having to scoop up her "doo doo."  The season finale could show me scraping the paint off the exterior of the house, priming it and painting it.  Occasionally I would say a swear word when I have trouble moving the ladder. 

I don't have the money that the Real Housewives of Orange County, Atlanta, New York or New Jersey have, but I do have a better life. I am sure of that.