Podcast appearances and mentions of June Cleaver

Blending Our Lives.by T. Foxal. Listen to the ► Podcast at Connected.Chapter 20.The next morning I was awakened by a beautiful sensation on my hardened shaft. Carrie was licking and sucking me. When my hand caressed her face, she popped off of it and looked at me. “I couldn't help it Babe. It was so hard and wanting attention. Lay back and enjoy.”I smiled at her and said, “You know, if you are quiet, I too, could be licking and sucking something as you do that.” She smiled and moved so we could 69. As her damp panty clad cunt came down to me, my fingers moved the fabric to the side and I began enjoying her sexy slit.It wasn't long before Carrie's body stiffened and she began to cum. I have no idea how she kept from yelling out, like she usually does, but she managed. I was already close when she started cumming, and that just helped me along, because about a minute later I was ejaculating into her mouth, which she somehow kept in and swallowed. After taking one last lick, she came off of me and moved so we could kiss. It was a very passionate kiss, that we both could taste our handy work. After kissing, she looked at me and said, “Good Morning Honey. I like this new mouthwash we use.”, then giggled softly.After resting a bit, I had to get up and pee. Carrie just snuggled back under the covers and smiled at me. It was only 6:30 in the morning, but I was up now. I told her I needed some coffee. She said that I should make two cups and bring one back for her. I looked down at her and said, “You getting used to this morning service young lady?” “You betcha Baby.” then directed me to where the coffee pods were for her Keurig.As I entered the kitchen, lo and behold, Chief was sitting at the table, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. I didn't even think that the paper was even delivered anymore. I red the news online. “Morning Chief” He looked up and said, “Morning Mark.” Good sign I thought. At least he didn't call me Shitbird, or any other name.I got my coffee and started to get Carrie her's. John cleared his throat and told me to take a seat. “So Mark. Tell me what's up with my little girl. I know they found some spot on one of her ovaries.”“Trust me John. That's about all I know. It took some prying to get that out of her. Hell, she was going to send me packing because of this. No way would I walk away from her, especially with something like that. But, I think it is just a cyst, that time and some meds will take care of.”He just stared then said, “Mark. Honestly, I am an overprotective father, and grandfather. I just want only the best for my two girls. I know you and I like you. You have always been a man about things and someone I can trust, unlike that fuck knuckle she was married too. I never trusted that guy from the first day I met him. I know from just looking at Carrie, she is in love with you, and judging how you look at her, the same is true for you. All I ask, is don't play games with her. Either be all in, or all out. I don't want her hurt again. As for her cyst, or whatever it is, I'm sure it is nothing. Connie has had those in the past.”“Sir. And I mean sir as respect as her father. We both know that we had to call officers sir, but we both know they couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag, with a knife and directions on where to cut. But John, truthfully, this is the real deal for us and me. I have never let a woman into my life before. I saw too much when I was in. How they were in love but deployment after deployment, took a toll on those marriages and most ended in divorce, so I never got into that situation. But your daughter has my heart and soul now and I will do anything for her.”He chuckled then said, “Well, I am not complaining. I've seen the same as you. I got real lucky with Connie. We have been together almost 43 years now, married 42 of them. She is the love of my life. Best thing that ever happened to me. How she endured all of my deployments, I'll never know. But I never took her for granted. Every time I was gone, I hurt inside, but I'd never show you assholes that side of me. I made sure when I was home, that she, and Carrie were the only things important to me. And I always acted like we were dating. We had date night a couple times a week. I don't mean sex either. Taking her to dinner, or a movie, or anything that she had an interest in. You do that, and you'll have a very happy home life. And, the sex is great too, even to this day.”“Yeah Chief, Really? Last night?” I said and laughed. He just chuckled and told me “Hey. When she wants it, who am I to deny her”, then laughed again.“Deny Who?” we both heard, and there, standing near us was Carrie. She walked over and behind her dad. Put her arms around him and kissed his head. “Morning Daddy. So who weren't you denying.”“Nothing Princess. Some things you don't need to know.” then laughed. She looked at me and said, “Glad I wasn't dying of thirst Honey” then shot me a glare. “Sorry Babe. But your dad wanted to speak with me. Here, let me get yours now.”, then laughed. Her dad then chimed in, “Christ Carrie, you broke him already. 20 years in the Marines and never broke the man, and you do it in two weeks.”“Mwah? Not me. But you know those Gyrene's, they sometimes need direction. They're not as cool as us Navy people.” then laughed, which made us all laugh. I was glad to see her sense of humor back, and the twinkle in her eye.We were gone most of the day. There was a huge craft show at this one park they we stayed at for most of the afternoon. I did learn that John got into woodworking as a hobby now. He said he always wanted to do that, but being away so long, he never found the time. At one point, I found myself with Connie, while Carrie was with her dad, looking at something a few booths down from us.“Mark. I am so happy you came into Carrie's life. I have never seen her this alive before, except when she took in Jenny. I know that you are worried about her, with whatever this growth is. As I told her last night, it is probably nothing, but a simple cyst. I have had 4 in my lifetime, and they always go away. The specialist will know better on Tuesday. I bet they don't even do an exploratory on her. Her lab results will tell the tale. Her doctor should have eased her mind some, but some reason didn't. Just be there for her, no matter what. That's all I ask.”I told her I would. After a bit we headed to this little Italian place her parents knew of, for dinner. John picked up this tab, although I was willing too, but he told me my money was no good tonight. I did invite them to join us the next day at my sister's, but Connie said they already had made plans to spend the day with Jenny and Alan.After dinner we headed back to Carrie's. I stated I needed to go home and get some clothes. Carrie offered to go with me. But I told her stay and enjoy her time with her parents. I wouldn't be long. Just needed to shave and shower and get some more clothes. I was back within an hour. We stayed up some and chatted more, then we all retired to bed. After the I love you's, Carrie said she wished we were alone right now, and that she needed me inside her. I just held her close and told her soon Baby, soon.Chapter 21.We left for my sister's around noon. The get together was to start at 1pm, but I wanted to see Ann before any others arrived. I knew she would just love Carrie, there was no question in my mind. She'd probably love any woman who could tie me down. Ann and my brother in law have been married 18 years. They have two kids, Kyle, who will turn 16 in November, and Katie, who turned 14 yesterday. They have a very nice and modern house, which they moved into a few years back.Ann met us at the door, when we pulled into the drive. She is 41, same as Carrie, and stands 5'6, 130 pounds. She has dirty blond hair, and blue eyes. She is a spit fire too. Never afraid to speak her mind and tell you like it is. She has tried, unsuccessfully, to fix me up with a multitude of her friends or single neighbors. Nothing ever came to pass with them. A few became sex buddy's, but that was it. None ever made my heart beat fast, or my stomach tighten up in a knot, like Carrie does.After the introductions were made, and a few cracks about how Carrie somehow managed to corral me in, the girls went off to the kitchen, while Brad, Kyle and I went to the family room to watch some football. Eventually, my uncle and aunt showed up, along with 2 of their kids and grandkids. Also was some of my sister's neighbors and friends too. Two of which I had dated, but nothing was ever said around Carrie. At one point, Ann got me alone and said, “I love that woman. She is so right for you. You better not fuck this up little brother.”We stayed until after eating and cake was served, and presents opened. I did not what to get a 14 year old, so I went the safe way and got her a card with $100 visa gift card. She loved that. I signed the card from Uncle Mark and Carrie. When she gave me a hug and a kiss, she whispered in my ear, “I like her Unc. I hope she will be my aunt one day.” I just smiled at her, knowing full well that was my plan too.Carrie's parents left Tuesday morning, to visit, and stay with Connie's sister Bev. Connie did tell me to call her if there was anything wrong, after the doctor visit. I did not stay Monday night at Carrie's. I figure they all needed a break from me. Of course Carrie really did not like that, but I thought it best. We've laid a lot on her parents by being together as a couple and actually sleeping together.I went with Carrie to the doctor's office and sat with her in the waiting room. The whole time, I held her hand and at times, felt as though she was crushing mine, because she was so nervous. Once she was called, I stayed in the waiting room. About forty minutes later, a nurse called for me to come with her. She led me to an office that had Carrie and the doctor.I looked at Carrie and she was smiling. The doctor introduced himself to me, and I did the same. He then looked over some papers, then looked at Carrie.“Ms. Reynolds, you can rest assured that you do not have any tumor, benign, or cancerous. It is what we call a functional cyst. It is a sack that usually contains an egg, then releases that egg during your monthly cycle. The sack normally then goes away. Well this one did not, as of yet. They sometimes don't, which is what has happened to you. It may take a few weeks, but it will go away, and when you come back in three weeks, if it hasn't, we'll give you some medication that will help with that process. Otherwise, you are very healthy. If you have stopped having intimate relations, like many women do at this time, you are very safe to resume, and did not need to stop in the first place. I only say this, because that is the first question I am usually asked.” he said with a slight chuckle.As we were driving home, Carrie was all smiles. This was a huge relief for her, and me too. Maybe our lives could get back on track, after this slight derailment. I asked her if she was hungry, but she said no. She just wanted to get home.After arriving, she excused herself and went upstairs. Lord knows what she was doing, but I finally heard heard coming down the stairs. When I looked up, there she stood, with this white lace Baby doll outfit on. You talk about sexy looking. “Oh My Sweetie. You look absolutely beautiful and very sexy”“Thank you Honey. I feel absolutely sexy right now and I need you to make love to me all afternoon.”She grabbed my hand and led me upstairs to her bed. I did not waste any time in disrobing. My cock was as hard as a rock, before my boxers hit the floor. As I stripped, Carrie got on the bed and lay there, with her legs spread wide, inviting me to take her. Her white thong barely covered her moist sex, and the top did not hide the excitement she felt , with her nipples already hard as pebbles on her beautiful tits.I kneeled between her legs and slipped my fingers under her thongs waistband and gently tugged them down and off of her body. Her labia was glistening in the afternoon sunlight, filtering through the window. I leaned in and blew on her sex, which elicited a moan from her. Then lightly licked her swollen lips. “Later Baby. I need you inside me now” she softly said.I rubbed my head all over her soaking wet slit and then slowly inserted the head. “Oh Gawd” she moaned out. I slowly inched my way into her inner being, which was so soft, and so hot. “God. You feel so good Carrie.”My mouth lowered to her chest, as I sucked in one fabric cover tit. She arched her back some, like she was giving me her tit. I then sucked the other one, which made her moan so loud. Then I moved up and started kissing her. Her legs wrapped around me and we made slow, and very passionate love to one another. Neither of could hold back though. We were like teenagers doing it for the first time, and erupted in orgasm. I shot first. As I was shooting my love juice deep inside her, Carrie crushed me with her legs as this set her off on her own orgasm. Her nails dug into my back, but neither of us cared. My grip around her neck was tight as well. I felt like I hadn't cum in ages. As we settled down, we lay in each other’s arms, panting from our euphoric bliss.I was still inside her, and surprisingly, still hard as well. I gently rolled us over, so she was now on top. Our lips still together. Our tongues exploring every inch of tongue. I loved her kisses, but best of all, I loved her more than ever. She sat up on me and looked down at me, smiling. Then slowly removed her teddy from her body, exposing her beautiful tits to me.“My God. You are so beautiful Carrie. You can stay her all day like this.” I told her. She smiled then said, “I had all intentions of doing this all day.” then she started to giggle. I asked what was so funny.“Last night, after we went to bed, I was laying here missing the hell out of you by the way, but I had to endure another night of my parents going at it. You have no idea how horny that made me.” she exclaimed. I asked, “Did you take care of that?”She sort of blushed, then laughed and said, “Yeah. I did. All I could think of was you, making love to me. This sure beats my fingers, or any toy I have.”I chuckled and said, “Wish I could have watched that. That would be so sexy to see.”“Maybe one day I will let you watch. But right now, Fuck me Babe. Fuck me so good”Later that evening, after napping and then showering together, we headed out to dinner at a local bar and grill. Afterwards, I brought her over to my house for the first time.She was in awe of it, just coming down the driveway. The house is big. It is 4 bedroom, Victorian style farm house. It was, at one time, 5 bedrooms. But my grandfather combined two bedrooms into one and made a new master bath in one portion of it. Otherwise, it only had one bathroom.When we entered the house and I turned on the lights, Carrie sort of gasped. I asked what was wrong, but she just smiled and said, “I'm waiting for June Cleaver to come out of the kitchen with her pearls and high heels on. God Mark, this is so 60's looking.”“I know, but it serves it purpose for me, at this time. I do plan on buying furniture, just never got around to doing it. Ann bitches at me all the time. Come on with me, while I gather some clothes for the morning.”We went upstairs to the master bedroom. When she saw the furniture up there, she really gasped. “Oh My Mark. This stuff is gorgeous. Please don't replace this. This stuff has to be from the 20's. I just love the bed.”“Yeah. Gramps said his father built it.” The bed was a big four poster and had matching dressers and nightstands. It was old, but finely built and well maintained.As I was gathering things, she laid out on the bed. “You know, maybe this weekend, we stay here and let the kids have the condo. I'd love to make love to you right here. Also, pack up some underwear and some shirts and pants, so you can leave them at my place.”“Sounds like a plan to me. Where does Alan live anyways?” I asked“He actually lives with his mom. Close by campus. She is divorced for years now. I am actually pretty friends with her. We have gone out for drinks a few times and have had dinners at each other's places. She just adores Jenny, which makes it a whole lot nicer.”After a few more minutes, we left and went back to Carrie's. Of course we made love again that night, and early the next morning, before she had to leave for work. This arrangement worked out quite well for us.Chapter 22.By Thanksgiving time, we were comfortably into our relationship. Most nights were spent at her place, and most weekends were spent at mine. There wasn't a night we did not spend together. I was hooked on her. I never, in a million years, could believe I could wake up every morning with someone. This felt awesome to me and so special. I loved looking at her while she slept. I also enjoyed just sitting with her at night reading, or just watching TV, then retire to bed. The best part is when she folds herself into me and falls asleep. I love that most.Thanksgiving is time for family. This year though, I was spending dinner with Carrie, Jenny and Alan, and Alan's mom, Brenda. I usually would be at Ann's, but she understood. I did tell Ann we would be over after dinner to visit.Carrie and Brenda did all the cooking. Alan and I set the table, but then retired to the couch to watch some football. Jenny was out with the ladies, so this left only Alan and I alone. As we watched, Alan and I would talk some. He was a nice young man and had his head together. He told he would be graduating in the spring and already had a job lined up. He wanted to work a while before he went for his Masters.Then he looked around to see where the ladies were, and saw they were still very busy in the kitchen. “Mr. Roberts, Mark. I… I want to ask Jenny to marry me this Christmas. Do I ask her mom beforehand?”“Well Alan. To be honest, I think that would be a great idea. Are you absolutely sure of this? This is a huge step in your life?” He smiled and said, “Oh yeah. I have never been sure of anything like this. I love her so much and can't wait to start our lives together.”“Tell you what. You get Carrie alone one day soon and ask her. I'm sure she will give her blessing. But, she's not the one you need the blessing from. You know who that belongs to.” I told him.He chuckled, then said, “Yeah. I kind of had a feeling you would say that. But I don't know when I will ever see them before Christmas. That's not something you ask over the phone.”I laughed, then said back to him. “Oh you are so right there. That old bastard would kill you if you did it like that. When can you get a Friday off in the next couple of weeks?”He shrugged his shoulders, “I guess any Friday. I usually have labs on those days, so no biggie, why?”I shook my head. “Between you and I, and I mean this, you don't say a word to Jenny. I too, plan on asking Carrie to marry me. So pick a Friday. We'll tell our fine ladies we are doing a guy thing that day, which we are. But we'll fly down to Florida, and ask the Chief and Connie in person.”“Oh wow Mark. But I can't afford that. Heck, the ring I want to get is a bit over my budget.”“Don't worry about the flight, I'll handle that. Where did you get the ring, or see it?He smiled and said, “Over at the mall, at Kay Jewelers. It's only a half carat, but one day, I'll get her a bigger one.”“Look, tomorrow, the girls are going shopping with my sister, god help me. So why don't you come with me. A friend of mine is a jeweler and has a lot of nice rings.

Blending Our Lives.by T. Foxal. Listen to the ► Podcast at Connected.Chapter 20.The next morning I was awakened by a beautiful sensation on my hardened shaft. Carrie was licking and sucking me. When my hand caressed her face, she popped off of it and looked at me. “I couldn't help it Babe. It was so hard and wanting attention. Lay back and enjoy.”I smiled at her and said, “You know, if you are quiet, I too, could be licking and sucking something as you do that.” She smiled and moved so we could 69. As her damp panty clad cunt came down to me, my fingers moved the fabric to the side and I began enjoying her sexy slit.It wasn't long before Carrie's body stiffened and she began to cum. I have no idea how she kept from yelling out, like she usually does, but she managed. I was already close when she started cumming, and that just helped me along, because about a minute later I was ejaculating into her mouth, which she somehow kept in and swallowed. After taking one last lick, she came off of me and moved so we could kiss. It was a very passionate kiss, that we both could taste our handy work. After kissing, she looked at me and said, “Good Morning Honey. I like this new mouthwash we use.”, then giggled softly.After resting a bit, I had to get up and pee. Carrie just snuggled back under the covers and smiled at me. It was only 6:30 in the morning, but I was up now. I told her I needed some coffee. She said that I should make two cups and bring one back for her. I looked down at her and said, “You getting used to this morning service young lady?” “You betcha Baby.” then directed me to where the coffee pods were for her Keurig.As I entered the kitchen, lo and behold, Chief was sitting at the table, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. I didn't even think that the paper was even delivered anymore. I red the news online. “Morning Chief” He looked up and said, “Morning Mark.” Good sign I thought. At least he didn't call me Shitbird, or any other name.I got my coffee and started to get Carrie her's. John cleared his throat and told me to take a seat. “So Mark. Tell me what's up with my little girl. I know they found some spot on one of her ovaries.”“Trust me John. That's about all I know. It took some prying to get that out of her. Hell, she was going to send me packing because of this. No way would I walk away from her, especially with something like that. But, I think it is just a cyst, that time and some meds will take care of.”He just stared then said, “Mark. Honestly, I am an overprotective father, and grandfather. I just want only the best for my two girls. I know you and I like you. You have always been a man about things and someone I can trust, unlike that fuck knuckle she was married too. I never trusted that guy from the first day I met him. I know from just looking at Carrie, she is in love with you, and judging how you look at her, the same is true for you. All I ask, is don't play games with her. Either be all in, or all out. I don't want her hurt again. As for her cyst, or whatever it is, I'm sure it is nothing. Connie has had those in the past.”“Sir. And I mean sir as respect as her father. We both know that we had to call officers sir, but we both know they couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag, with a knife and directions on where to cut. But John, truthfully, this is the real deal for us and me. I have never let a woman into my life before. I saw too much when I was in. How they were in love but deployment after deployment, took a toll on those marriages and most ended in divorce, so I never got into that situation. But your daughter has my heart and soul now and I will do anything for her.”He chuckled then said, “Well, I am not complaining. I've seen the same as you. I got real lucky with Connie. We have been together almost 43 years now, married 42 of them. She is the love of my life. Best thing that ever happened to me. How she endured all of my deployments, I'll never know. But I never took her for granted. Every time I was gone, I hurt inside, but I'd never show you assholes that side of me. I made sure when I was home, that she, and Carrie were the only things important to me. And I always acted like we were dating. We had date night a couple times a week. I don't mean sex either. Taking her to dinner, or a movie, or anything that she had an interest in. You do that, and you'll have a very happy home life. And, the sex is great too, even to this day.”“Yeah Chief, Really? Last night?” I said and laughed. He just chuckled and told me “Hey. When she wants it, who am I to deny her”, then laughed again.“Deny Who?” we both heard, and there, standing near us was Carrie. She walked over and behind her dad. Put her arms around him and kissed his head. “Morning Daddy. So who weren't you denying.”“Nothing Princess. Some things you don't need to know.” then laughed. She looked at me and said, “Glad I wasn't dying of thirst Honey” then shot me a glare. “Sorry Babe. But your dad wanted to speak with me. Here, let me get yours now.”, then laughed. Her dad then chimed in, “Christ Carrie, you broke him already. 20 years in the Marines and never broke the man, and you do it in two weeks.”“Mwah? Not me. But you know those Gyrene's, they sometimes need direction. They're not as cool as us Navy people.” then laughed, which made us all laugh. I was glad to see her sense of humor back, and the twinkle in her eye.We were gone most of the day. There was a huge craft show at this one park they we stayed at for most of the afternoon. I did learn that John got into woodworking as a hobby now. He said he always wanted to do that, but being away so long, he never found the time. At one point, I found myself with Connie, while Carrie was with her dad, looking at something a few booths down from us.“Mark. I am so happy you came into Carrie's life. I have never seen her this alive before, except when she took in Jenny. I know that you are worried about her, with whatever this growth is. As I told her last night, it is probably nothing, but a simple cyst. I have had 4 in my lifetime, and they always go away. The specialist will know better on Tuesday. I bet they don't even do an exploratory on her. Her lab results will tell the tale. Her doctor should have eased her mind some, but some reason didn't. Just be there for her, no matter what. That's all I ask.”I told her I would. After a bit we headed to this little Italian place her parents knew of, for dinner. John picked up this tab, although I was willing too, but he told me my money was no good tonight. I did invite them to join us the next day at my sister's, but Connie said they already had made plans to spend the day with Jenny and Alan.After dinner we headed back to Carrie's. I stated I needed to go home and get some clothes. Carrie offered to go with me. But I told her stay and enjoy her time with her parents. I wouldn't be long. Just needed to shave and shower and get some more clothes. I was back within an hour. We stayed up some and chatted more, then we all retired to bed. After the I love you's, Carrie said she wished we were alone right now, and that she needed me inside her. I just held her close and told her soon Baby, soon.Chapter 21.We left for my sister's around noon. The get together was to start at 1pm, but I wanted to see Ann before any others arrived. I knew she would just love Carrie, there was no question in my mind. She'd probably love any woman who could tie me down. Ann and my brother in law have been married 18 years. They have two kids, Kyle, who will turn 16 in November, and Katie, who turned 14 yesterday. They have a very nice and modern house, which they moved into a few years back.Ann met us at the door, when we pulled into the drive. She is 41, same as Carrie, and stands 5'6, 130 pounds. She has dirty blond hair, and blue eyes. She is a spit fire too. Never afraid to speak her mind and tell you like it is. She has tried, unsuccessfully, to fix me up with a multitude of her friends or single neighbors. Nothing ever came to pass with them. A few became sex buddy's, but that was it. None ever made my heart beat fast, or my stomach tighten up in a knot, like Carrie does.After the introductions were made, and a few cracks about how Carrie somehow managed to corral me in, the girls went off to the kitchen, while Brad, Kyle and I went to the family room to watch some football. Eventually, my uncle and aunt showed up, along with 2 of their kids and grandkids. Also was some of my sister's neighbors and friends too. Two of which I had dated, but nothing was ever said around Carrie. At one point, Ann got me alone and said, “I love that woman. She is so right for you. You better not fuck this up little brother.”We stayed until after eating and cake was served, and presents opened. I did not what to get a 14 year old, so I went the safe way and got her a card with $100 visa gift card. She loved that. I signed the card from Uncle Mark and Carrie. When she gave me a hug and a kiss, she whispered in my ear, “I like her Unc. I hope she will be my aunt one day.” I just smiled at her, knowing full well that was my plan too.Carrie's parents left Tuesday morning, to visit, and stay with Connie's sister Bev. Connie did tell me to call her if there was anything wrong, after the doctor visit. I did not stay Monday night at Carrie's. I figure they all needed a break from me. Of course Carrie really did not like that, but I thought it best. We've laid a lot on her parents by being together as a couple and actually sleeping together.I went with Carrie to the doctor's office and sat with her in the waiting room. The whole time, I held her hand and at times, felt as though she was crushing mine, because she was so nervous. Once she was called, I stayed in the waiting room. About forty minutes later, a nurse called for me to come with her. She led me to an office that had Carrie and the doctor.I looked at Carrie and she was smiling. The doctor introduced himself to me, and I did the same. He then looked over some papers, then looked at Carrie.“Ms. Reynolds, you can rest assured that you do not have any tumor, benign, or cancerous. It is what we call a functional cyst. It is a sack that usually contains an egg, then releases that egg during your monthly cycle. The sack normally then goes away. Well this one did not, as of yet. They sometimes don't, which is what has happened to you. It may take a few weeks, but it will go away, and when you come back in three weeks, if it hasn't, we'll give you some medication that will help with that process. Otherwise, you are very healthy. If you have stopped having intimate relations, like many women do at this time, you are very safe to resume, and did not need to stop in the first place. I only say this, because that is the first question I am usually asked.” he said with a slight chuckle.As we were driving home, Carrie was all smiles. This was a huge relief for her, and me too. Maybe our lives could get back on track, after this slight derailment. I asked her if she was hungry, but she said no. She just wanted to get home.After arriving, she excused herself and went upstairs. Lord knows what she was doing, but I finally heard heard coming down the stairs. When I looked up, there she stood, with this white lace Baby doll outfit on. You talk about sexy looking. “Oh My Sweetie. You look absolutely beautiful and very sexy”“Thank you Honey. I feel absolutely sexy right now and I need you to make love to me all afternoon.”She grabbed my hand and led me upstairs to her bed. I did not waste any time in disrobing. My cock was as hard as a rock, before my boxers hit the floor. As I stripped, Carrie got on the bed and lay there, with her legs spread wide, inviting me to take her. Her white thong barely covered her moist sex, and the top did not hide the excitement she felt , with her nipples already hard as pebbles on her beautiful tits.I kneeled between her legs and slipped my fingers under her thongs waistband and gently tugged them down and off of her body. Her labia was glistening in the afternoon sunlight, filtering through the window. I leaned in and blew on her sex, which elicited a moan from her. Then lightly licked her swollen lips. “Later Baby. I need you inside me now” she softly said.I rubbed my head all over her soaking wet slit and then slowly inserted the head. “Oh Gawd” she moaned out. I slowly inched my way into her inner being, which was so soft, and so hot. “God. You feel so good Carrie.”My mouth lowered to her chest, as I sucked in one fabric cover tit. She arched her back some, like she was giving me her tit. I then sucked the other one, which made her moan so loud. Then I moved up and started kissing her. Her legs wrapped around me and we made slow, and very passionate love to one another. Neither of could hold back though. We were like teenagers doing it for the first time, and erupted in orgasm. I shot first. As I was shooting my love juice deep inside her, Carrie crushed me with her legs as this set her off on her own orgasm. Her nails dug into my back, but neither of us cared. My grip around her neck was tight as well. I felt like I hadn't cum in ages. As we settled down, we lay in each other’s arms, panting from our euphoric bliss.I was still inside her, and surprisingly, still hard as well. I gently rolled us over, so she was now on top. Our lips still together. Our tongues exploring every inch of tongue. I loved her kisses, but best of all, I loved her more than ever. She sat up on me and looked down at me, smiling. Then slowly removed her teddy from her body, exposing her beautiful tits to me.“My God. You are so beautiful Carrie. You can stay her all day like this.” I told her. She smiled then said, “I had all intentions of doing this all day.” then she started to giggle. I asked what was so funny.“Last night, after we went to bed, I was laying here missing the hell out of you by the way, but I had to endure another night of my parents going at it. You have no idea how horny that made me.” she exclaimed. I asked, “Did you take care of that?”She sort of blushed, then laughed and said, “Yeah. I did. All I could think of was you, making love to me. This sure beats my fingers, or any toy I have.”I chuckled and said, “Wish I could have watched that. That would be so sexy to see.”“Maybe one day I will let you watch. But right now, Fuck me Babe. Fuck me so good”Later that evening, after napping and then showering together, we headed out to dinner at a local bar and grill. Afterwards, I brought her over to my house for the first time.She was in awe of it, just coming down the driveway. The house is big. It is 4 bedroom, Victorian style farm house. It was, at one time, 5 bedrooms. But my grandfather combined two bedrooms into one and made a new master bath in one portion of it. Otherwise, it only had one bathroom.When we entered the house and I turned on the lights, Carrie sort of gasped. I asked what was wrong, but she just smiled and said, “I'm waiting for June Cleaver to come out of the kitchen with her pearls and high heels on. God Mark, this is so 60's looking.”“I know, but it serves it purpose for me, at this time. I do plan on buying furniture, just never got around to doing it. Ann bitches at me all the time. Come on with me, while I gather some clothes for the morning.”We went upstairs to the master bedroom. When she saw the furniture up there, she really gasped. “Oh My Mark. This stuff is gorgeous. Please don't replace this. This stuff has to be from the 20's. I just love the bed.”“Yeah. Gramps said his father built it.” The bed was a big four poster and had matching dressers and nightstands. It was old, but finely built and well maintained.As I was gathering things, she laid out on the bed. “You know, maybe this weekend, we stay here and let the kids have the condo. I'd love to make love to you right here. Also, pack up some underwear and some shirts and pants, so you can leave them at my place.”“Sounds like a plan to me. Where does Alan live anyways?” I asked“He actually lives with his mom. Close by campus. She is divorced for years now. I am actually pretty friends with her. We have gone out for drinks a few times and have had dinners at each other's places. She just adores Jenny, which makes it a whole lot nicer.”After a few more minutes, we left and went back to Carrie's. Of course we made love again that night, and early the next morning, before she had to leave for work. This arrangement worked out quite well for us.Chapter 22.By Thanksgiving time, we were comfortably into our relationship. Most nights were spent at her place, and most weekends were spent at mine. There wasn't a night we did not spend together. I was hooked on her. I never, in a million years, could believe I could wake up every morning with someone. This felt awesome to me and so special. I loved looking at her while she slept. I also enjoyed just sitting with her at night reading, or just watching TV, then retire to bed. The best part is when she folds herself into me and falls asleep. I love that most.Thanksgiving is time for family. This year though, I was spending dinner with Carrie, Jenny and Alan, and Alan's mom, Brenda. I usually would be at Ann's, but she understood. I did tell Ann we would be over after dinner to visit.Carrie and Brenda did all the cooking. Alan and I set the table, but then retired to the couch to watch some football. Jenny was out with the ladies, so this left only Alan and I alone. As we watched, Alan and I would talk some. He was a nice young man and had his head together. He told he would be graduating in the spring and already had a job lined up. He wanted to work a while before he went for his Masters.Then he looked around to see where the ladies were, and saw they were still very busy in the kitchen. “Mr. Roberts, Mark. I… I want to ask Jenny to marry me this Christmas. Do I ask her mom beforehand?”“Well Alan. To be honest, I think that would be a great idea. Are you absolutely sure of this? This is a huge step in your life?” He smiled and said, “Oh yeah. I have never been sure of anything like this. I love her so much and can't wait to start our lives together.”“Tell you what. You get Carrie alone one day soon and ask her. I'm sure she will give her blessing. But, she's not the one you need the blessing from. You know who that belongs to.” I told him.He chuckled, then said, “Yeah. I kind of had a feeling you would say that. But I don't know when I will ever see them before Christmas. That's not something you ask over the phone.”I laughed, then said back to him. “Oh you are so right there. That old bastard would kill you if you did it like that. When can you get a Friday off in the next couple of weeks?”He shrugged his shoulders, “I guess any Friday. I usually have labs on those days, so no biggie, why?”I shook my head. “Between you and I, and I mean this, you don't say a word to Jenny. I too, plan on asking Carrie to marry me. So pick a Friday. We'll tell our fine ladies we are doing a guy thing that day, which we are. But we'll fly down to Florida, and ask the Chief and Connie in person.”“Oh wow Mark. But I can't afford that. Heck, the ring I want to get is a bit over my budget.”“Don't worry about the flight, I'll handle that. Where did you get the ring, or see it?He smiled and said, “Over at the mall, at Kay Jewelers. It's only a half carat, but one day, I'll get her a bigger one.”“Look, tomorrow, the girls are going shopping with my sister, god help me. So why don't you come with me. A friend of mine is a jeweler and has a lot of nice rings.

Blending Our Lives.by T. Foxal. Listen to the ► Podcast at Connected.Chapter 20.The next morning I was awakened by a beautiful sensation on my hardened shaft. Carrie was licking and sucking me. When my hand caressed her face, she popped off of it and looked at me. “I couldn't help it Babe. It was so hard and wanting attention. Lay back and enjoy.”I smiled at her and said, “You know, if you are quiet, I too, could be licking and sucking something as you do that.” She smiled and moved so we could 69. As her damp panty clad cunt came down to me, my fingers moved the fabric to the side and I began enjoying her sexy slit.It wasn't long before Carrie's body stiffened and she began to cum. I have no idea how she kept from yelling out, like she usually does, but she managed. I was already close when she started cumming, and that just helped me along, because about a minute later I was ejaculating into her mouth, which she somehow kept in and swallowed. After taking one last lick, she came off of me and moved so we could kiss. It was a very passionate kiss, that we both could taste our handy work. After kissing, she looked at me and said, “Good Morning Honey. I like this new mouthwash we use.”, then giggled softly.After resting a bit, I had to get up and pee. Carrie just snuggled back under the covers and smiled at me. It was only 6:30 in the morning, but I was up now. I told her I needed some coffee. She said that I should make two cups and bring one back for her. I looked down at her and said, “You getting used to this morning service young lady?” “You betcha Baby.” then directed me to where the coffee pods were for her Keurig.As I entered the kitchen, lo and behold, Chief was sitting at the table, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. I didn't even think that the paper was even delivered anymore. I red the news online. “Morning Chief” He looked up and said, “Morning Mark.” Good sign I thought. At least he didn't call me Shitbird, or any other name.I got my coffee and started to get Carrie her's. John cleared his throat and told me to take a seat. “So Mark. Tell me what's up with my little girl. I know they found some spot on one of her ovaries.”“Trust me John. That's about all I know. It took some prying to get that out of her. Hell, she was going to send me packing because of this. No way would I walk away from her, especially with something like that. But, I think it is just a cyst, that time and some meds will take care of.”He just stared then said, “Mark. Honestly, I am an overprotective father, and grandfather. I just want only the best for my two girls. I know you and I like you. You have always been a man about things and someone I can trust, unlike that fuck knuckle she was married too. I never trusted that guy from the first day I met him. I know from just looking at Carrie, she is in love with you, and judging how you look at her, the same is true for you. All I ask, is don't play games with her. Either be all in, or all out. I don't want her hurt again. As for her cyst, or whatever it is, I'm sure it is nothing. Connie has had those in the past.”“Sir. And I mean sir as respect as her father. We both know that we had to call officers sir, but we both know they couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag, with a knife and directions on where to cut. But John, truthfully, this is the real deal for us and me. I have never let a woman into my life before. I saw too much when I was in. How they were in love but deployment after deployment, took a toll on those marriages and most ended in divorce, so I never got into that situation. But your daughter has my heart and soul now and I will do anything for her.”He chuckled then said, “Well, I am not complaining. I've seen the same as you. I got real lucky with Connie. We have been together almost 43 years now, married 42 of them. She is the love of my life. Best thing that ever happened to me. How she endured all of my deployments, I'll never know. But I never took her for granted. Every time I was gone, I hurt inside, but I'd never show you assholes that side of me. I made sure when I was home, that she, and Carrie were the only things important to me. And I always acted like we were dating. We had date night a couple times a week. I don't mean sex either. Taking her to dinner, or a movie, or anything that she had an interest in. You do that, and you'll have a very happy home life. And, the sex is great too, even to this day.”“Yeah Chief, Really? Last night?” I said and laughed. He just chuckled and told me “Hey. When she wants it, who am I to deny her”, then laughed again.“Deny Who?” we both heard, and there, standing near us was Carrie. She walked over and behind her dad. Put her arms around him and kissed his head. “Morning Daddy. So who weren't you denying.”“Nothing Princess. Some things you don't need to know.” then laughed. She looked at me and said, “Glad I wasn't dying of thirst Honey” then shot me a glare. “Sorry Babe. But your dad wanted to speak with me. Here, let me get yours now.”, then laughed. Her dad then chimed in, “Christ Carrie, you broke him already. 20 years in the Marines and never broke the man, and you do it in two weeks.”“Mwah? Not me. But you know those Gyrene's, they sometimes need direction. They're not as cool as us Navy people.” then laughed, which made us all laugh. I was glad to see her sense of humor back, and the twinkle in her eye.We were gone most of the day. There was a huge craft show at this one park they we stayed at for most of the afternoon. I did learn that John got into woodworking as a hobby now. He said he always wanted to do that, but being away so long, he never found the time. At one point, I found myself with Connie, while Carrie was with her dad, looking at something a few booths down from us.“Mark. I am so happy you came into Carrie's life. I have never seen her this alive before, except when she took in Jenny. I know that you are worried about her, with whatever this growth is. As I told her last night, it is probably nothing, but a simple cyst. I have had 4 in my lifetime, and they always go away. The specialist will know better on Tuesday. I bet they don't even do an exploratory on her. Her lab results will tell the tale. Her doctor should have eased her mind some, but some reason didn't. Just be there for her, no matter what. That's all I ask.”I told her I would. After a bit we headed to this little Italian place her parents knew of, for dinner. John picked up this tab, although I was willing too, but he told me my money was no good tonight. I did invite them to join us the next day at my sister's, but Connie said they already had made plans to spend the day with Jenny and Alan.After dinner we headed back to Carrie's. I stated I needed to go home and get some clothes. Carrie offered to go with me. But I told her stay and enjoy her time with her parents. I wouldn't be long. Just needed to shave and shower and get some more clothes. I was back within an hour. We stayed up some and chatted more, then we all retired to bed. After the I love you's, Carrie said she wished we were alone right now, and that she needed me inside her. I just held her close and told her soon Baby, soon.Chapter 21.We left for my sister's around noon. The get together was to start at 1pm, but I wanted to see Ann before any others arrived. I knew she would just love Carrie, there was no question in my mind. She'd probably love any woman who could tie me down. Ann and my brother in law have been married 18 years. They have two kids, Kyle, who will turn 16 in November, and Katie, who turned 14 yesterday. They have a very nice and modern house, which they moved into a few years back.Ann met us at the door, when we pulled into the drive. She is 41, same as Carrie, and stands 5'6, 130 pounds. She has dirty blond hair, and blue eyes. She is a spit fire too. Never afraid to speak her mind and tell you like it is. She has tried, unsuccessfully, to fix me up with a multitude of her friends or single neighbors. Nothing ever came to pass with them. A few became sex buddy's, but that was it. None ever made my heart beat fast, or my stomach tighten up in a knot, like Carrie does.After the introductions were made, and a few cracks about how Carrie somehow managed to corral me in, the girls went off to the kitchen, while Brad, Kyle and I went to the family room to watch some football. Eventually, my uncle and aunt showed up, along with 2 of their kids and grandkids. Also was some of my sister's neighbors and friends too. Two of which I had dated, but nothing was ever said around Carrie. At one point, Ann got me alone and said, “I love that woman. She is so right for you. You better not fuck this up little brother.”We stayed until after eating and cake was served, and presents opened. I did not what to get a 14 year old, so I went the safe way and got her a card with $100 visa gift card. She loved that. I signed the card from Uncle Mark and Carrie. When she gave me a hug and a kiss, she whispered in my ear, “I like her Unc. I hope she will be my aunt one day.” I just smiled at her, knowing full well that was my plan too.Carrie's parents left Tuesday morning, to visit, and stay with Connie's sister Bev. Connie did tell me to call her if there was anything wrong, after the doctor visit. I did not stay Monday night at Carrie's. I figure they all needed a break from me. Of course Carrie really did not like that, but I thought it best. We've laid a lot on her parents by being together as a couple and actually sleeping together.I went with Carrie to the doctor's office and sat with her in the waiting room. The whole time, I held her hand and at times, felt as though she was crushing mine, because she was so nervous. Once she was called, I stayed in the waiting room. About forty minutes later, a nurse called for me to come with her. She led me to an office that had Carrie and the doctor.I looked at Carrie and she was smiling. The doctor introduced himself to me, and I did the same. He then looked over some papers, then looked at Carrie.“Ms. Reynolds, you can rest assured that you do not have any tumor, benign, or cancerous. It is what we call a functional cyst. It is a sack that usually contains an egg, then releases that egg during your monthly cycle. The sack normally then goes away. Well this one did not, as of yet. They sometimes don't, which is what has happened to you. It may take a few weeks, but it will go away, and when you come back in three weeks, if it hasn't, we'll give you some medication that will help with that process. Otherwise, you are very healthy. If you have stopped having intimate relations, like many women do at this time, you are very safe to resume, and did not need to stop in the first place. I only say this, because that is the first question I am usually asked.” he said with a slight chuckle.As we were driving home, Carrie was all smiles. This was a huge relief for her, and me too. Maybe our lives could get back on track, after this slight derailment. I asked her if she was hungry, but she said no. She just wanted to get home.After arriving, she excused herself and went upstairs. Lord knows what she was doing, but I finally heard heard coming down the stairs. When I looked up, there she stood, with this white lace Baby doll outfit on. You talk about sexy looking. “Oh My Sweetie. You look absolutely beautiful and very sexy”“Thank you Honey. I feel absolutely sexy right now and I need you to make love to me all afternoon.”She grabbed my hand and led me upstairs to her bed. I did not waste any time in disrobing. My cock was as hard as a rock, before my boxers hit the floor. As I stripped, Carrie got on the bed and lay there, with her legs spread wide, inviting me to take her. Her white thong barely covered her moist sex, and the top did not hide the excitement she felt , with her nipples already hard as pebbles on her beautiful tits.I kneeled between her legs and slipped my fingers under her thongs waistband and gently tugged them down and off of her body. Her labia was glistening in the afternoon sunlight, filtering through the window. I leaned in and blew on her sex, which elicited a moan from her. Then lightly licked her swollen lips. “Later Baby. I need you inside me now” she softly said.I rubbed my head all over her soaking wet slit and then slowly inserted the head. “Oh Gawd” she moaned out. I slowly inched my way into her inner being, which was so soft, and so hot. “God. You feel so good Carrie.”My mouth lowered to her chest, as I sucked in one fabric cover tit. She arched her back some, like she was giving me her tit. I then sucked the other one, which made her moan so loud. Then I moved up and started kissing her. Her legs wrapped around me and we made slow, and very passionate love to one another. Neither of could hold back though. We were like teenagers doing it for the first time, and erupted in orgasm. I shot first. As I was shooting my love juice deep inside her, Carrie crushed me with her legs as this set her off on her own orgasm. Her nails dug into my back, but neither of us cared. My grip around her neck was tight as well. I felt like I hadn't cum in ages. As we settled down, we lay in each other’s arms, panting from our euphoric bliss.I was still inside her, and surprisingly, still hard as well. I gently rolled us over, so she was now on top. Our lips still together. Our tongues exploring every inch of tongue. I loved her kisses, but best of all, I loved her more than ever. She sat up on me and looked down at me, smiling. Then slowly removed her teddy from her body, exposing her beautiful tits to me.“My God. You are so beautiful Carrie. You can stay her all day like this.” I told her. She smiled then said, “I had all intentions of doing this all day.” then she started to giggle. I asked what was so funny.“Last night, after we went to bed, I was laying here missing the hell out of you by the way, but I had to endure another night of my parents going at it. You have no idea how horny that made me.” she exclaimed. I asked, “Did you take care of that?”She sort of blushed, then laughed and said, “Yeah. I did. All I could think of was you, making love to me. This sure beats my fingers, or any toy I have.”I chuckled and said, “Wish I could have watched that. That would be so sexy to see.”“Maybe one day I will let you watch. But right now, Fuck me Babe. Fuck me so good”Later that evening, after napping and then showering together, we headed out to dinner at a local bar and grill. Afterwards, I brought her over to my house for the first time.She was in awe of it, just coming down the driveway. The house is big. It is 4 bedroom, Victorian style farm house. It was, at one time, 5 bedrooms. But my grandfather combined two bedrooms into one and made a new master bath in one portion of it. Otherwise, it only had one bathroom.When we entered the house and I turned on the lights, Carrie sort of gasped. I asked what was wrong, but she just smiled and said, “I'm waiting for June Cleaver to come out of the kitchen with her pearls and high heels on. God Mark, this is so 60's looking.”“I know, but it serves it purpose for me, at this time. I do plan on buying furniture, just never got around to doing it. Ann bitches at me all the time. Come on with me, while I gather some clothes for the morning.”We went upstairs to the master bedroom. When she saw the furniture up there, she really gasped. “Oh My Mark. This stuff is gorgeous. Please don't replace this. This stuff has to be from the 20's. I just love the bed.”“Yeah. Gramps said his father built it.” The bed was a big four poster and had matching dressers and nightstands. It was old, but finely built and well maintained.As I was gathering things, she laid out on the bed. “You know, maybe this weekend, we stay here and let the kids have the condo. I'd love to make love to you right here. Also, pack up some underwear and some shirts and pants, so you can leave them at my place.”“Sounds like a plan to me. Where does Alan live anyways?” I asked“He actually lives with his mom. Close by campus. She is divorced for years now. I am actually pretty friends with her. We have gone out for drinks a few times and have had dinners at each other's places. She just adores Jenny, which makes it a whole lot nicer.”After a few more minutes, we left and went back to Carrie's. Of course we made love again that night, and early the next morning, before she had to leave for work. This arrangement worked out quite well for us.Chapter 22.By Thanksgiving time, we were comfortably into our relationship. Most nights were spent at her place, and most weekends were spent at mine. There wasn't a night we did not spend together. I was hooked on her. I never, in a million years, could believe I could wake up every morning with someone. This felt awesome to me and so special. I loved looking at her while she slept. I also enjoyed just sitting with her at night reading, or just watching TV, then retire to bed. The best part is when she folds herself into me and falls asleep. I love that most.Thanksgiving is time for family. This year though, I was spending dinner with Carrie, Jenny and Alan, and Alan's mom, Brenda. I usually would be at Ann's, but she understood. I did tell Ann we would be over after dinner to visit.Carrie and Brenda did all the cooking. Alan and I set the table, but then retired to the couch to watch some football. Jenny was out with the ladies, so this left only Alan and I alone. As we watched, Alan and I would talk some. He was a nice young man and had his head together. He told he would be graduating in the spring and already had a job lined up. He wanted to work a while before he went for his Masters.Then he looked around to see where the ladies were, and saw they were still very busy in the kitchen. “Mr. Roberts, Mark. I… I want to ask Jenny to marry me this Christmas. Do I ask her mom beforehand?”“Well Alan. To be honest, I think that would be a great idea. Are you absolutely sure of this? This is a huge step in your life?” He smiled and said, “Oh yeah. I have never been sure of anything like this. I love her so much and can't wait to start our lives together.”“Tell you what. You get Carrie alone one day soon and ask her. I'm sure she will give her blessing. But, she's not the one you need the blessing from. You know who that belongs to.” I told him.He chuckled, then said, “Yeah. I kind of had a feeling you would say that. But I don't know when I will ever see them before Christmas. That's not something you ask over the phone.”I laughed, then said back to him. “Oh you are so right there. That old bastard would kill you if you did it like that. When can you get a Friday off in the next couple of weeks?”He shrugged his shoulders, “I guess any Friday. I usually have labs on those days, so no biggie, why?”I shook my head. “Between you and I, and I mean this, you don't say a word to Jenny. I too, plan on asking Carrie to marry me. So pick a Friday. We'll tell our fine ladies we are doing a guy thing that day, which we are. But we'll fly down to Florida, and ask the Chief and Connie in person.”“Oh wow Mark. But I can't afford that. Heck, the ring I want to get is a bit over my budget.”“Don't worry about the flight, I'll handle that. Where did you get the ring, or see it?He smiled and said, “Over at the mall, at Kay Jewelers. It's only a half carat, but one day, I'll get her a bigger one.”“Look, tomorrow, the girls are going shopping with my sister, god help me. So why don't you come with me. A friend of mine is a jeweler and has a lot of nice rings.

So you want to know how to be a great mom to your teenage daughter? Do you have a vision of an ideal mom in your head? Are you determining your greatness as a mom based on how your daughter treats you? Being a “great mom” is subjective to what you believe a great mom to be.  Maybe it's envisioning June Cleaver from Leave It To Beaver as your ideal SAHM who manages to keep everything tidy, never seems to yell or get angry (okay did I just age myself) or Joanna Gaines who seems to manage a thriving megabusiness making homemaking so ultra appealing all the while raising her kiddos.  BTW I love Joanna Gaines don't get me wrong.  Or maybe you're a realist and think a great mom is someone who just wants to know if what she is doing, is enough to prepare her teen girl for the life ahead of her. Are you looking for ways to communicate with your girl so she can start opening up to you? Do you want to understand why is it so hard to approach your girl? Are you stuck on how to approach your teenage daughter in conversation without her freaking out?     JOIN US FOR A LIVE 2-DAY TEEN TALK WORKSHOP!!   You'll walk away with understanding the changes happening to your girl , Shift you role in this teen stage, and discover better communication pathways to connect and grow closer with your daughter   Imagine if you and your daughter can finally have conversations at a level where she doesn't need to hide anything from you! Plus, you'll get to meet other mamas who are all in the same boat.... ALL IN THIS FREE ONLINE WORKSHOP WITH JEANNIE!   SAVE YOUR SPOT HERE!      You can find me here: Work with me: www.talktoyourteengirl.com Connect: hello@jeanniebaldomero.com Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/raisingherconfidently Free mom support community: www.raisingherconfidently.com

Tonight on The ReidOut, Joy Reid takes a look at the Republican Party's outdated views on women, epitomized by the 1950s image of June Cleaver as the submissive homemaker, contrasted with the Democratic stance of moving forward with their new slogan: "We're not going back." Joy is joined by one of America's most powerful women ever, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, to discuss this and the historic presidential candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris. Also tonight, as the Harris campaign picks up momentum and a historic endorsement, we need to have a conversation about how the media covers Trump. Listen now to this edition of The ReidOut on MSNBC.

There are only two political stories on our agenda this week, both from the top of the ballot: the “will he or won't he” waiting about President Biden, and the GOP National Convention which they branded as a unifying event but, in reality, only united the dominant MAGA movement while horrifying just about everyone else. Key to the discussion over the Democratic ticket: polls, polls, polls. Links to some of the most credible: Public Policy Poll: Michigan & Pennsylvania Most say Biden should withdraw from the Presidential race - AP-NORC YouGov Michigan Senate Poll - July 4-12 YouGov Poll - Harris for President, Issues Blue Labs Polling of Alternative nominees - Kelly, Moore, Shapiro, Whitmer The Republican convention was a four-day celebration of lies, half-truths and grievances in the style of their Lord and Savior, would-be Dictator-on-Day-One Donald. Fact-checkers worked overtime to chronicle the most outrageous denials of reality, including the team at The Washington Post: Fact-checking Day 1 of the 2024 Republican National Convention - The Washington Post Fact-checking Day 2 of the 2024 Republican National Convention - The Washington Post Fact-checking Day 3 of the 2024 Republican National Convention - The Washington Post Fact-checking Day 4 of the 2024 Republican National Convention - The Washington Post One of the many outrages in the Republican Party Platform is the outright call to return women's rights to the 1950's June Cleaver model: the perfect homemaker whose primary function is giving birth. Trump brags about getting Roe overturned by his appointments to the Supreme Court, Vance has endorsed a nationwide abortion ban with no exceptions. Implicit in the agenda are bans on contraception and fertility treatments including invitro fertilization. Women are the driving force for Michigan Democrats. A majority of both the House and Senate Democratic caucuses are women; most of the state's top elected leaders are women. Joining the discussion to talk about the implications of the GOP misogyny for November: state Senator Dayne Polehanki of Livonia. She is a two-time Teacher of the Year award winner and has nearly 20 years of experience in the classroom. She serves as the Majority Caucus Chair for the Michigan Senate Democrats and is in her second term. Polehanki earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Central Michigan University, has a major in English and teacher certification from Alma College, and a master's degree in teaching from Marygrove College. =========================== This episode is sponsored in part by EPIC ▪ MRA,  a full service survey research firm with expertise in: • Public Opinion Surveys • Market Research Studies • Live Telephone Surveys • On-Line and Automated Surveys • Focus Group Research • Bond Proposals - Millage Campaigns • Political Campaigns & Consulting • Ballot Proposals - Issue Advocacy Research • Community - Media Relations • Issue - Image Management • Database Development & List Management =========================== The 34 for 45 Commemorative Mug Felony schmelony! Get your "34 for 45" mug today!  

A young couple who collect obscure audio recordings discover the dark side of toy ownership when they surreptitiously record and translate an ancient, taboo podcast episode from the deep, forgotten past. On Episode 612 of Trick or Treat Radio we discuss the Irish Folk Horror flick All You Need is Death from director Paul Duane! We also go deep into the archives of our mind and talk about toys from the 1980s, we find out how different people decipher art differently, and we find out the origin of Rocky Overhang! So grab your favorite Irish whiskey, keep an ear out for the scariest sounding folk song you've ever heard, and strap on for the world's most dangerous podcast!Stuff we talk about: Cataract Man, Squash, Wolfie Wellness Check, Riley Martin, going Italian, stop topping shaming, Stop Top and Shame, a screaming Sicilian, in your grocers freezer, it's not delivery its Digiorno, pizza stoned, candirian air, best gluten free pizza in the world, Cobra, Gluten Free Cauliflower Ears, celiac, allergies, Abigail, Empire Strikes Back Atari Game, Transformers One, energon splooge, female Transformers, Macross, Robotech, G1 Jetfire, Golden Girl and the Guardians of the Gemstones, Aphrodite, June Cleaver, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, G.I. Joe, the origin of Rocky Overhang, Capital Toy, The Mighty Crusaders, Galoob, LJN, The Neverending Story, Plague Dogs, Black Star, U.S.S. Flagg, Fundies, Spencer Gifts, Jimmy Jahns, Casey Kasem, Audio Archaeologist, All You Need is Death, Paul Duane, Simone Collins, Charlie Maher, Olwen Fouere, Everly Brothers, Wake Up Little Susie, Stanley Kubrick, Frank Zappa, Dee Snider, PMRC, Dweezil, Moon Unit, Nekromantik: the perfect love story, Lankum, the power of music, how art can be deciphered by both the masculine and feminine, shadow creatures, Billie Piper, Late Night With the Devil, Shudder, David Dastmalchian, Cameron and Colin Cairnes, Dark Knight, The Ambulance, Jamie Foxx, Throw Caution to the Pizza Stone, Corroborate and Listen, and Macaroni Machinations.Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/trickortreatradioJoin our Discord Community: discord.trickortreatradio.comSend Email/Voicemail: mailto:podcast@trickortreatradio.comVisit our website: http://trickortreatradio.comStart your own podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=386Use our Amazon link: http://amzn.to/2CTdZzKFB Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/trickortreatradioTwitter: http://twitter.com/TrickTreatRadioFacebook: http://facebook.com/TrickOrTreatRadioYouTube: http://youtube.com/TrickOrTreatRadioInstagram: http://instagram.com/TrickorTreatRadioSupport the show

Randa Prendergast takes a “June Cleaver” approach to running a law firm, making every little thing run smoothly without breaking a sweat. Jared and Randa talk through how to identify your workflow needs and develop processes that make it easy for employees old and new to know exactly how to keep things rolling. Later on in the Rump Roast, Jared's fellow Bostonian Dan Winslow joins to talk about the great equalizer of the food world (beans, obviously) and the real reason Boston has long been known as “Beantown.” Dan also discusses the first-ever Beantown Beanfest, coming up on June 24, 2023! And, finally, 1974's “Sundown” album by Gordon Lightfoot is perfect. In Jared's words, the title track is “…maybe the most quietly menacing pop song ever written.” That description alone is pretty damn intriguing, so tune in for Jared's thoughts on the whole album—and RIP Gordon Lightfoot (November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023). Randa Prendergast is the Attorney Whisperer at Mrs. June Legal, LLC. Daniel B. Winslow is President of the New England Legal Foundation. ------ In honor of the late, great Gordon Lightfoot, here is a smattering of some of that Yukon gold! ----- Our opening track is Two Cigarettes by Major Label Interest. Our closing track is Night Whispers by Dr. Delight.

Randa Prendergast takes a “June Cleaver” approach to running a law firm, making every little thing run smoothly without breaking a sweat. Jared and Randa talk through how to identify your workflow needs and develop processes that make it easy for employees old and new to know exactly how to keep things rolling. Later on in the Rump Roast, Jared's fellow Bostonian Dan Winslow joins to talk about the great equalizer of the food world (beans, obviously) and the real reason Boston has long been known as “Beantown.” Dan also discusses the first-ever Beantown Beanfest, coming up on June 24, 2023! And, finally, 1974's “Sundown” album by Gordon Lightfoot is perfect. In Jared's words, the title track is “…maybe the most quietly menacing pop song ever written.” That description alone is pretty damn intriguing, so tune in for Jared's thoughts on the whole album—and RIP Gordon Lightfoot (November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023). Randa Prendergast is the Attorney Whisperer at Mrs. June Legal, LLC. Daniel B. Winslow is President of the New England Legal Foundation. ------ In honor of the late, great Gordon Lightfoot, here is a smattering of some of that Yukon gold! ----- Our opening track is Two Cigarettes by Major Label Interest. Our closing track is Night Whispers by Dr. Delight.

Hawksworth's ex-wife shows up at Fitz's office with Sarah in tow. Mary Margaret finds the history of Full Bore Drilling and it's not a Ward and June Cleaver kind of story.

Rob has a super wacky obsession with June Cleaver from the old show Leave it to Beaver!! Oh boy! Let's see how his wife takes this!

June Cleaver made parenting look so simple, while perfect soccer moms today can make it seem unachievably hard. Andrew Bomback is an associate professor of medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how parenting became a verb, why we're stuck on the notion that parents can have it all, and how to break free of the intense cultural pressure surrounding parenting. His book is “Long Days, Short Years: A Cultural History of Modern Parenting.”

We've all thought about the beauty behind the 50's and the class of women like June Cleaver.. So we've taken it up a notch to discuss the dynamics in BDSM of the cool fetish - THE 50's HOUSEWIFE! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mistress-mia8/support

Amanda is joined by author, wife and mother Rachel Amarante and they are diving into expectations and how to simplify motherhood.Included in this episode:Rachel and Amanda talk about the "generations" of moms such as the "June Cleaver mom" and how this can set us up for failurePerfectionism - How can it show up in our parenting?Learn to find your happy in motherhood, doing what makes you happy and feel goodSimplifying motherhood. How?Follow Rachel on IG@rachel_amarante and work with her : www.theawakeningmotherhoodproject.com

This week, join Chaos and Carnage for a look into the perfect 50's suburban family... in 1996. The mom is June Cleaver, the father is Ward, the children are all American teens. But something dark and sinister lies hidden in this picturesque family home... a monster who terrorizes the other innocent suburbanites - anyone who gets in her family's way soon finds themselves the target of her rage. It's Serial Mom! https://theymostlypodcastatnight.com - resources/links/merch https://morbidlybeautiful.com/podcasts - The Morbidly Beautiful Podcast Network

From the beginning of time, homemaking has been an important part of living. But does the perfect homemaker truly exist?You don't have to be a remake of June Cleaver. You don't have to wear a vintage apron or wait by the door with a pipe and slippers to be a homemaker. Learn more about Homemaking from the past, how to adapt it to the present, and in the process, create your own style of homemaking!Go ahead, grab a glass of lemonade, pull up a rocker and join the conversation. It's time toRelax & Enjoy!Find out more about living a Simple Life at The Farm WifeGet helpful links and transcripts for this episode and others at The Farm Wife/podcastsIf you want to learn more about living a Simple Life or just have a fun visit, you can contact me at: thevirtualporch@gmail.com 

Dr. Manuela Powell is a breast cancer surgeon turned mindset coach, working to liberate her clients to have the audacity to live a full life.   She fiercely believes the day all women realize how powerful they are will be the day the world completely changes for the better.After having her first child at 42, Dr. Manuela felt herself transition from an audacious, full-spirited powerhouse to June Cleaver, giving everything to everyone else.   She shares her journey to discovering life coaching, and how it's given her the power to be herself again.In this episode, she shares...How gratitude can become an excuseHow every woman struggles with internalized patriarchy The top 3 themes that come up with all her clientsHer practical advice for listeners is to...Become conscious of things so you can change thingsNotice the way you talk to yourself in your headFeel your feelingsWith Oklahoma just passing the most restrictive legislation to date, banning abortions at the point of fertilization... toward the end of the episode, Dr. Manuela and I address these motherhood-related US current events. // CONNECT WITH DR. MANUELA//manuelapowell.com Facebook: drmanuelapowellInstagram: @drmanuelapowellTikTok: @drmanuelapowellFREE Survive your Strong-Willed Child MasterclassSunday, June 5th at 3:00 PM Centralwww.parentingwholeheartedly.com/strong-willed*FREE* CALM BIG EMOTIONS GUIDEwww.parentingwholeheartedly.com/emotionsI believe in you & I'm cheering you on.Come say hi!  I'm @parent_wholeheartedly on Insta.Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Write a Review & Share with a friend!Support the show

Count your household's gold medals and listen as FanyuFanme taps into the Fanyus' active imaginations by admiring the most perfect canvas for embellishment…Yuzu. BLOG POSTS FEATURED ON THIS EPISODE: Yesterday was my birthday. (at 1:15) https://fanyufanme.com/yesterday-was-my-birthday/ June Cleaver didn't need a photo of Yuzu. (at 9:37) https://fanyufanme.com/june-cleaver-didnt-need-a-photo-of-yuzu/ TRANSLATIONS: yokatta [よかった] - thank goodness OTHER EPISODES REFERENCED: Episode 7: Fanyu Imagination https://anchor.fm/fanyufanme/episodes/FanyuFanme-Podcast---Episode-7---Fanyu-Imagination-e1b0qg5/a-a70eiid FOLLOW FANYUFANME ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fanyufanme Twitter: https://twitter.com/FanyuFanme Facebook: https://facebook.com/FanyuFanme Redbubble: FanyuFanme.redbubble.com YuzTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBnSVXRks-gQU0Z26kzpPAQ Official Website: https://fanyufanme.com/

Cinda and Cristi share the story of their mom, Jeanne. They both say that she was the best mom there ever was - just like June Cleaver. She was given 3 months to live, and lived another 8 days. Cinda's Take-Away: Everybody grieves differently and there's no right or wrong way. Don't let anyone tell you have to grieve. Cristi's Take-Away: When you lose someone, it sucks, and you are going to be sad. Everyone processes in a different way and you have to be okay with it. Don't be afraid to let that happen. All of our stories are important! If you have a story to share, please send an email to daughterswithoutmoms@gmail.com. You don't have to be a DWOM to share your story. All are welcome! Would you like to talk about your grief journey? Sign up for a complimentary Connection Call here: https://calendly.com/daughterswithoutmoms/30-minute-connection-call For more information on my thoughts on grief, please visit my website, www.yourgriefjourney.com

Slumber Party Massacre II is a 1987 American black comedy slasher film written and directed by Deborah Brock, and produced by Roger Corman. It is the second installment in the original Slumber Party Massacre trilogy, and stars Crystal Bernard, and Atanas Ilitch. The film follows Courtney, a character introduced in the previous film, as she and her friends are attacked by a supernatural killer with a power-drill guitar."Where Home Economics Meets Horror!" The Homicidal Homemaker is a one-of-a-kind horror cooking show, featuring the best in horror recipes, cocktails, tutorials & more. Dubbed as the "macabre Martha Stewart", horror hostess Kaci Hansen puts the 'cleaver' in June Cleaver with deadly delectables, gruesome gourmet goodies and more! Want the episodes one week before they're available anywhere else? Subscribe to Screambox! Available on YouTube, Screambox (Roku, XBOX, Playstation, On-Demand) and AT&T Uverse/Comcast in Central CA. www.TheHomicidalHomemaker.com www.facebook.com/homicidalhomemaker www.instagram.com/homicidalhomemaker As always please reach out and let Dirk know your experiences or thoughts on any and all of the movies or guests. Want to be a guest or just share a story? Please do!https://twitter.com/VHUS_Podcasthttps://www.instagram.com/dirkzaster/?hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/vhus_podcast/https://www.facebook.com/vhuspodcast

Susan Taylor Glasgow: The Way Things Never Were Susan Taylor Glasgow's work embraces feminine ideals of sensuality in a seductive but unforgiving material, offering conflicting messages of comfort and expectation. Some of her sculpture pays tribute to the era of June Cleaver and Betty Crocker via images appropriated from the world of ‘50s and ‘60s television and advertising. The bustier forms of Chandelier Dresses and the sensuous detailed perfection of lingerie sets present fantasies, reminding us of the way things never were. Sewing, cooking and arranging glass, Glasgow attempts to reconcile the conflict over work and home, feminist ideals and the Madonna complex, duty and fulfillment.  She says: “In a way, my work is the result of homemaking skills gone awry. I have always embraced domesticity in spirit, but not in action. My life as an artist puts housekeeping last while instead I cook and sew glass. My internal domestic struggle has led me to examine the concept of domestic expectations and traditional roles of men and women. I am intrigued by 1950s imagery and the false perception of simpler times.” Born in Superior, Wisconsin, Taylor Glasgow grew up just across the tip of Lake Superior, in Duluth, Minnesota. She attended the University of Iowa, graduating in 1983 with a BFA in Design. After working in graphic design for a short period, the artist returned to the sewing skills passed on to her by her mother, opening a wildly successful dressmaking shop, On Pins & Needles, which she owned and ran from 1984 to1997 in Iowa City, Iowa, and Columbia, Missouri. In 1997, the artist sold the dressmaking shop to pursue her interest in art, focusing on glass.  Utilizing her skills as a seamstress, Glasgow developed a unique approach to glass, stitching glass components together. Each sculpture starts out as a flat sheet of glass. To establish the three-dimensional shape and holes, sections of glass are kiln-fired several times. To create the imagery, text and figures are sandblasted into the glass and pigment is rubbed into the sandblasted area to create the black and gray photo. Then the glass is fired again to 1250 degrees to melt the pigment into the glass. Once cooled, the sections are coldworked, given a final sandblasting and then assembled. Redefining “woman's work” in non-traditional mediums, the artist creates complex forms and imagery while exploring the dichotomy of women and societal expectations.  Glasgow received Pilchuck Glass School's emerging artist grant in 2002, a WheatonArts fellowship in 2003, and was a resident artist at the Pittsburgh Glass Center in 2008. Her work can be found in the collections of the Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR; the Alexander Tutsek Foundation, Münich, Germany; the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburg, PA; the Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA; and the Museum of American Glass, Millville, NJ.  Glasgow says: “I think viewers respond to my work on many levels – first to its initial form and visual appeal, and there's a secondary impact once the viewer gets a closer look. An example might be the corset series. The shape of the corset is appealing to both men and women for different reasons. Once the work is examined closer, a deeper understanding of the piece is revealed. Women respond to my work in the way the message is intended — exploring the dichotomy of women in the household and domestic expectations — while men respond to the work's sensual qualities. I think for the most part it is because not much has changed for women in the household. Most women are the main caregivers and housekeepers, while still trying to uphold the expected requirement of being glamorous and sexy.” Working from her new studio in Columbia, Missouri, Glasgow currently has work on view in a group show at Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe, and will participate in Habatat Galleries' 50th Anniversary Exhibition, opening September 17, 2021, while working towards securing a solo museum show in the future.  

Kurt gets some great news, so Les and Jason decide that Kurt shouldn't have to watch this week's dud of a movie, Hallmark's Love at the Ranch. After Kurt's Blac Chyna Report (and the reveal that Jason was offered Hallmark-branded wine), Les and Jason recount the movie that may be the least-enjoyable one ever endured for this podcast. Brimming with Gaslight Condescension, the movie features a boss that makes June Cleaver look like Miranda Priestly, a typing montage, and organic vegetables. In other words, even the possibility that these people may all be living on a commune and don't know it can't elevate this old-guard Hallmark movie enough to make us care about the full circle path of an orchid.    Facebook : alifetimeofhallmark Instagram : lifetimeofhallmarkpodcast Theme song generously donated by purple-planet.com

This episode is about allusions, Slushies. How do poems gain dimension by relying on references? Where is that ekphrastic sweet spot?  Listen in as we focus on the poems of July Westhale. Under the influence of her work, we talk glass flowers, ghost towns, road trips, and snow. Here are links to a few of the references and allusion we make on the show, inspired by Westhale's way of seeing the world:  This is America; “My Mother is a Fish”; Teresa Leo's Junkie; and ee cumminings [i carry your heart with me]   With thanks to one of our sponsors,  Wilbur Records, who kindly introduced us to the artist is A.M.Mills whose song “Spaghetti with Lorraine” now opens our show.  At the table: Samantha Neugebauer, Alex Tunney, Kathleen Volk Miller, Jason Schneiderman, and Marion Wrenn   July Westhale is an essayist, translator, and the award-winning author of Trailer Trash, and Via Negativa, which Publishers Weekly called "stunning" in a starred review. Her most recent work can be found in McSweeney's, The National Poetry Review, Prairie Schooner, CALYX, Hayden's Ferry Review, and The Huffington Post, among others. She also has an inventively-named collection of salty chapbooks. When she's not teaching, she works as a co-founding editor of PULP Magazine. www.julywesthale.com     Rotten Apples Return to Harvard's Glass Flowers Exhibition   What you have heard is true— something rotten once got us from our houses, from our beds where what was there may or may not have been.   Remember, my darling, my sweet, that a blistered and blackened thing, a thing representing life/ sin itself, was a cause for art. Gave a man, many men, a lineage of pride.   The moon rose tonight as usual, no spore-filled scab. As ivory as the cut belly of an apple sliced to share. Nothing noxious to point to, say you.   The world of museums and love are, as it turns out, through the machinations and designations of man-made things, defined by abstractions: Security, beauty, even, in our worst days.   One day, Blaschka told his son, yes—   American Literature   for Joey   “the silver lamp,--the ravishment, --the wonder--the darkness,--loneliness, the fearful thunder” John Keats   There's a billboard with the route 66's version of June Cleaver, holding a pie underneath block letters HO-MADE PIES, which is how dry towns get their jollies, I guess.   We buy coffee in cups so thin the joe becomes us and we never regain our human shapes, and I say to you I wonder where they keep the half-bull man and you shotgun back I've spent my life asking that like the sharp shooter you are.   Who wouldn't want to be the son of a bull and a damned woman we are all sons of bull and damn        you've gone West to find everything or me   and look at girls the way I look at girls who are bad for me. Like a desert through slatternly windows. This is America: the big-pricked statues statuary in their old-growth knowing: in the end--spoiler alert--we're both after the wrong bandit, the bank gets robbed, the two women who should be lovers but aren't arc their Caddie like a rainbow into the lavish vaginal canyon at the last moment, the whale gets away, Faulkner's pretend mother doesn't get the burial she deserves, we have to choose between Liz Taylor in a kerchief or James Dean with his shirt stuttered open, and we can't---   moon moon   Now there's snow on the ocean, which is meant to confuse us and does, though not because we are unprepared for it but rather because the sight of it reminds us of the static-hearted parts of our bodies as they prostrate themselves in years-over-yonder: exploratory attempts to find warmth—not unlike a surefooted expedition—, in the disappearance of everything ripe—now covered with snow's annihilating speeches—, in the blank stares of our children as they amputate themselves from us, in the cloudscape of come forgotten to be enjoyed, on the snow of a down comforter at which we'd first begun (circle back to exhibit A), in the cold expanse following the question am I like winter to you, in the unspooling that happens when we, I, I mean I play a memory over again for the too-many-ith time, in the television's convex and prudish eye, in the snowy sound of over-use, in the way empty feels like brain-freeze, in the brilliant and nearly-neon white of the sign which mourns vacancy even if everyone around us says off-season, says they love   the snow, the way it makes well-conquered land possible again.   earthling   You'd never guess it (oh, good, a game!), but here we are many days without our bouncing blue ball, our terrestrial ball and chain, our baby planet—not even a note as it slipped from the rearview. Now a footnote in a book that, were we on said earth, a man would walk door to door to sell as a collection: The History of Aquamarine, Abridged. But we are not earthlings any longer, with no taxonomical replacement in sights. Stars coronate the endless black, winging it, and here we are: the most select, the most tourist. The most inclined to shoot the earth for the moon's moon, to go nil, to bankrupt because it is the most American thing to do, though America was left behind, no matter nationality— only the home, the journey to and from.   Let us not seek solace from the callousness of quietude, for it is what exiled us.

This week on Must Have Seen TV, Brett talks to Ethan Kaye about the Leave It to Beaver episode "Wally's Haircomb." See the horror of the Jelly Roll! Feel the rage from June Cleaver! Witness the shattering of Wally's confidence! Be sure to listen to the end of the episode for info on next week's sitcom. Please rate and review the show in Apple Podcasts, and you can follow the podcast on Twitter and Instagram at @MustHaveSeenTV. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Women often talk about diets....good food, bad food, good habits, bad habits, exercise classes, exercise bikes...what if, in the effort to attain better health, we are focusing on the wrong things?  Dr John Murray, owner of John G. Murray Jr Chiropractic, offers (forgive the pun) food for thought.  What started as a conversation on the mind / body connection turned into information, tools and techniques to "polish your internal mirror" thereby illuminating judgement and leading to long-term great health.In Part One of this interview, Dr John Murray teaches:** You have to be "selfish" to work on yourself**June Cleaver must go!**The Secret to sticking to your plan**How affirmations can help you quiet "monkey brain"**Why and how to increase the amount of water you drink.  We all know drinking water is important but do you know exactly what it does for your body?...and much, much moreDr John Murray practices Chiropractic in Clinton, NJ. His daughter, Dr Hilary, and son-in-law, Dr. Zach,  are doctors on staff.  More information can be found at his website: JMurrayChiropracticNJ.comDr John Murray shares his book pick in Part Two of our interview which drops next week.This episode of Stories and Strategies for Women Podcast is brought to you by Eyebobs - the best readers you will ever find, eyeglasses too. Use Promo Code "StoriesandStrat10" for a 10% discount today. Note: As with all of our health episodes, please seek your doctor's advice on any particular health issue.

Dublin’s Boomtown Rats surfaced at the London Gardens in March of 1980: my first live show of the new decade. They had been an obsession of mine over the previous 2.5 years since I had picked up their debut 45, the charging and furious “Lookin’ After No. 1,” on a trip to the UK in ’77. At this point, they were three albums in, superstars in the UK, and just coming off an international smash, “I Don’t Like Mondays,” which went Top 10 here in Canada.I kicked off a boatload of ‘80s gig-going in this freezing arena on a bitterly cold night (the bolt opposite of the Bob Seger steambath at this venue in 1978… so much for insulation), warmed up by an engaged and energetic Rats fronted by an animated Bob Geldof (“Sir” and Live Aid were years in the future). My pal “Special Guests”—then of London, Ontario, now of Leeds, UK—who you first met in Episode 3 on The Ramones, returns with his recollections and reflections on the evening.Stay tuned for onstage pyjamas, photo awkwardness, and how our present shapes the memories of our past. See the original 2010 blog entry here. NEXT PODCAST: I have already recorded episodes covering the next two live shows I saw post-Rats (EP 3, no.7—Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: Ramones with The Demics and EP 10, no.8—Once In A Lifetime: The Heatwave Festival ) and done a podcast discussing the two shows I was slated to see that fall but were sadly cancelled (XTC in November and Bob Marley in December, as featured in EPs 9A & 9B, no. 20b—Waiting In Vain: 22 Performances I Missed). So, my next podcast jumps into 1981 and the sole live gig I saw that year: the first of three Police Picnics, hosted by the titular group. It was the second of four consecutive summers where I went to a big open air festival. While those other fests were more degenerate and adventuresome affairs, this was a more pop-and-pizza/June-Cleaver-style experience for us. And while free of mind-altered shenanigans, this first Police Picnic is long on great music and at least 3 killer sets including one by the original Specials playing one of their last gigs and my finally getting to see Iggy Pop for the first time. Special Guests also attended this festival and kindly stops by once again to share his memories of that day. Come back next time for sleeping legs, pelting patrons, a crowd-shocking performance, and Catherine O’Hara sightings. Episode 15 (Concert no.009) The Police Picnic 1 with The Police, The Specials, Iggy Pop, Killing Joke, The Go-Go’s, Nash the Slash, John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett, The Payola$, Oingo Boingo, and the David Bendeth Band: The Boiler, The Grove, Oakville, Ontario, Canada, August 23, 1981 Get a sneak preview by reading the original 2010 blog entry here.

Today I talk about C-PTSD, Dissociation and Love. These episodes are more of a 25 minute rant than a coherent, organized lesson on life. I'm still working on my story-telling skills and each new episode represents my best effort to improve my content and improve the production quality as well. It's probably not good to apologize the first thing in the description. I'm not saying it isn't interesting, I just sort of ramble about, but I think I am able to tie everything in even if that thing isn't part of the title. You be the judge.Much of the episode is about dissociation and how this amazing brain thing  saved me from years of painful, heartbreaking memories. It probably saved me from the developmental and learning problems as well, because it is well documented how child abuse and neglect impact the physical, mental and emotional growth of children.Dissociation snatched me out of my encestuous family and placed me in a TV family, the Cleavers where I acted out a composite of Theodore (the Beaver) and his older brother Wally. Their parents, Ward and June Cleaver naturally replaced my original parents and fortunately for me I lived in an idyllic small midwestern town, just like the Cleavers.Thanks to me dissociating, I was spared the painful memories of abuse perpetrated by my paternal grandfather and my older brother. All of these memories are safely tucked away in my subconscious where, I hope they remain forever.As the Hero Child of this family, I was not wired to remember negative events. I could only remember the good stuff about my family. In this way I kept the secret of incest without even knowing it was a secret. My brain ROCKS!As usual, here are a couple of websites I found while doing research that I think will be helpful for those of you who are afflicted by PTSD and C-PTSD.  You may need to copy and paste the links below. Sorry about that. I'm working on it.https://cptsdfoundation.org/category/dissociation-and-cptsd/ https://www.brightquest.com/blog/complex-ptsd-and-romantic-relationships-healing-trauma-together-through-treatment/https://brickelandassociates.com/dissociation-from-trauma/Be Courageous. Be Strong. Be KindI'll catch you later.

In today's episode I am chatting with coach, podcaster and success strategist LaWann Moses about the big topic of mom guilt (insert ominous bom-bom-bommmmmm music). We talk about how LaWann defines mom guilt, and her answer is surprising! We get into the topic of the unrealistic expectations we place on ourselves as moms, and where that feeling of "should" comes from. (Sidebar: Why did June Cleaver and Mrs. Brady ever become the epitome of the "perfect mom?") LaWann is the host of the More than a Mother Podcast, and she helps moms to remember what they truly love and enjoy, the things that bring them happiness outside of their families. She believes it is possible to have a great career pursuing your dreams AND be a great mom at the same time. We talk about how it is okay to be a little selfish, to pursue our dreams and to put ourselves back on our own priority lists. As moms we can be so hard on ourselves, choosing to set aside our dreams and put ourselves on hold in favour of taking care of everyone else around us. LaWann has a ton of fantastic advice for how to shift your mindset about this, and going after your own dreams and being fulfilling outside motherhood can ultimately make you an even better mom. For the full show notes, and LaWann's bio and contact details, go to www.momcamplife.com/podcast.

"I’m the picture of normalcy. June Cleaver with freeze-dried casseroles. Betty Crocker in a gas mask."   Grab your emergency supplies and join Aurelien at book club for YA contemporary weird novel "Let's Call It A Doomsday" by Katie Henry. It's a wild ride through teen angst, clinical anxiety, world-ending prophecies, and friendship (awww).    -- * Theme: Magical Transition by Kevin McLeod * Additional music and sound effects from zapsplat.com * End tag from "Clerks" (1994) and property of Kevin Smith/Miramax

Welcome to the Woodstock Roundtable. Conversational Improv with Hosts Victoria Sullivan, and Ron Van Warmer. Key Topics:Mother's Day Celebration--  From Medea to June Cleaver, we take a look at famous (and controversial ) mothers from history, mythology and our personal lives. We won't forget Mother Earth (is she sending COVID-19 as a lesson to be learned?) Joins us, we’ll open up the Roundtable Jukebox with A Blues Tribute to Moms. And we’ll speak with our Inter-Galactic Street Philosopher and Personal Friend of the Big Electron, Patrick Carlin.Please check out https://www.woodstockvitamins.com/promo codeROUNDTABLE for 15%off your purchase.https://www.woodstock.com/is in association with http://www.radiowoodstock.com/

Daniela and I had a deep conversation about our values as mothers and setting the intention to create opportunities for children to become themselves. Daniela shared her story of ‘becoming’ a mother and how looking back she had some beliefs that were ‘limiting’ her. Daniela talks about her experience raising two children and her personal share about her child’s coming out experience. Daniela describes the challenges of only having ‘two’ gender roles and how this can create an environment of ‘not fitting in’ and feeling ‘invisible’. Daniela is now an ally in helping families to bridge the gap so they can java successful coming out conversations that are safe and empowering. “When my children arrived, my role model for motherhood was June Cleaver. Measuring up to that expectation was completely unrealistic since June’s "perfection" only ever existed on the small screen, one half-hour at a time. Releasing the impossible standards I had set for myself was life-changing. Our job as moms isn’t to create a container for our children that sets limitations on their becoming; it’s to hold safe and sacred space that allows them to explore and experience limitless possibilities.” Daniela Chase is a Master Coach and Practitioner of evolved Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) who also happens to be amicably divorced after ending a 27-year marriage, and the proud parent of a gender non-binary adult child. She is passionate about sharing her story of healing childhood trauma, transforming unhealthy generational patterns, and leaning in to live life with joy and excitement. Daniela helps families navigating their gender diverse child’s courageous coming out journey, and mature women navigating the emotionally charged experience of ending longer term marriages to move forward and create the life they've been craving. She is about to launch the Real, Raw & Vulnerable Podcast, sharing meaningful conversations about Breaking Through Barriers and Becoming. Daniela Chase Coaching & Consulting; Passion Gender Diversity & Inclusivity Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daniela.chase.coach Insta: @daniela.chase.coach LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniela-chase-coach/ Website: http://danielachase.com/ Email Daniela at be@danielachase.com for a complimentary copy of Bridging the Genderation Gap™: The A B C Guide to Successful Coming Out Conversations for Parents & Families

On this episode of en(gender)ed, our guest is Erika Geraerts,a former executive at Frank Body who started her own brand, Fluff, two years ago.  We speak with Erika today about her journey as a founder and beauty brand iconoclast, Fluff, an ethical beauty brand based in Melbourne, the state of the beauty industry, and the ways in which beauty, lifestyle, consumption intersect to shape women's views of ourselves, our bodies, and impact our relationships. During our conversation, Erika and I referenced the following resources and topics: The role of family and culture in shaping girls' and women's views of themselves and their relationship to the beauty industry The documentary film, "Miss Representation" by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, that explores how mainstream media and culture contribute to the underrepresentation of women in positions of power in America The stereotypical housewife archetype of June Cleaver in Leave It to Beaver (whom Teri mistakenly referred to as "Betty Cleaver") The impact of Kim Kardashian on girls, beauty, self-image, etc. The Medium post about a mom who pretended she was an 11 year-old girl and what she learned in the process This episode was sponsored by Masami, the ultimate in botanically hydrated hair.  You can find Masami online at lovemasami.com and share your hair @lovemasamihair on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. --- Thanks for tuning in to the en(gender)ed podcast! Be sure to check out our en(gender)ed site and follow our blog on Medium. Consider donating because your support is what makes this work sustainable. Please also connect with us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Don't forget to subscribe to the show!

Thursday, January 23, 2020, 12 noon WPKN 89.5 FM www.wpkn.org Host: Duo Dickinson This week Home Page Radio Takes On THE KITCHEN. After World War 2, June Cleaver got a perm, did her makeup, put on an apron, and you did not see her until dinner. We made homes that isolated the cook to a room behind walls, with stacked boxes of cabinets and appliances, no place to sit unless it was the table we ate every day and the those who did not cook socialized in another place. But 200 Years ago, every home that was not made for those who had staff centered around the hearth, and the hearth was the kitchen. In the Little Ice Age of that time, things were colder, there was less freshly harvested food, so more time was spent by everyone around the fire and in the kitchen. Together. Something happened about 150 years ago: The way we heated and the way we cooked became separate things. We had central plumbing. We began to have separate rooms to cook all year round: not just a “Summer Kitchen” for when the heat of baking/roasting/stewing was unwelcome (unlike the winter). Now the universe of home living has come full circle: for two generations the Kitchen has come back home. We are now all around the hearth again, its just that the hearth is now the most expensive, the most used and the most social place in most homes. So home page talks to those who Really know kitchens in 2020, from several different places. Christine F. Ingraham, co-created Fletcher Cameron Design, received her degrees from Cranbrook Academy of Art and Yale University, and has dedicated much of her time designing custom kitchens for over 25 years. Denise Appel – the Chef of Zinc Restaurant in New Haven: and a homeowner who (tries) to cook (and paint) at home. How is that working out? We also talk to Eva Geertz, who helps run The Institute Library, and her family, and is an extraordinary Cook-In-Charge who not only makes, but remakes the foods she creates. This will be an hour of finding out why this place is the The Place, so near and dear to most homes.

The Hake Report, Tue. 12/31/19, 9 AM US PST, Hour 4 of Jesse Lee Peterson's stream: Hake talks about his shirt which is a prototype, not for sale yet. James praises the 71-year-old firearm instructor who killed the Church murderer with a single headshot. JLP has a premiere of a 2007 radio show episode for New Year's Day as a replay. (No live show tomorrow.) BLOG POST: https://www.thehakereport.com/blog/2019/12/31/blacks-excusing-their-evil-making-selves-out-as-victims-tue-123119 THEN: Some great calls: Earl from MI argues with Hake more. Chris from AZ tells creepy ghost stories and about a pro-Ouija board spirit. Kevin from Chicago says James sounds dumb as f***, but first claims he experienced “racism.” Killian from MA talks about the US Embassy in Iraq being attacked by some in uniform, then talks up Tom Steyer. Craig from IL is upset at disrespectful blacks who hate Jesse and James. David from NY is upset at the word Beta, and thinks Kevin needs to go back into slavery, because that's what he's in by blaming others. Lynn from Chicago is white and Hispanic and jokes about men identifying with June Cleaver; he also talks about a black mob violence incident. Joe from Phoenix, AZ, plays his usual snake tactics with deceiving statistics making blacks out to be victims of bias. JLP's original stream: https://youtu.be/X4d0mI1j3vo James's video from this episode: https://youtu.be/BZY1W0uuJwQ Live Sunday through Friday 9 AM PT (11CT/12ET) Call-in: 888-775-3773 http://thehakereport.com

"The great mystery of June Cleaver, her life, her marriage and her family, has plagued mankind for generations. How could such a perfect woman exist, loving a husband, raising two sons, and cooking so immaculately while never appearing stressed, over-worked, fed-up, or unsatisfied?" Or, at least that's how the Amazon description of "June Cleaver: Sexual Deviant" begins. I don't remember feeling any sense of mystery around the characters on Nick At Night - they seemed pretty straight forward. And downright bland. But for author Benjamin Smith there was a backstory to be explored. So he created one, giving a new life to the matriarch of "Leave it to Beaver." His stage play centers on June and Ward Cleaver in their golden years, tackling their roles as grandparents and coming to terms with their pre-"Leave It ... " lives. A play requires characters - usually several. And it's a challenge to bring multiple characters to life in audio format, but Trenton Bennett faced the challenge head on. June, Ward, and the rest of the cast are brought to aural existence by a single performer, and each voice presented its own challenge for Trenton. On this episode of Table to Stage we hear from author and performer about "June Cleaver: Sexual Deviant." Music from https://filmmusic.io "Wholesome" by Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.com License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Hello and welcome to the underbelly podcast. Come along and explore the vulnerable underside to story and learn that, in the real world, there are no heroes -- there are no bad guys -- it’s complicated.  I’m Wendy, and I have been paid to tell people’s stories for decades. Along the way, what I have learned is that stories are powerful -- they can heal, but they can also kill. When they are used well, they’re medicine. In the wrong hands, they’re dangerous poison. Over the next episodes, we’re going to vivisect stories -- learn that the heroes aren’t heroic, the villains are pure evil. We’re going to ask who wrote the story -- who benefited from the story...and who is missing from the story. We’re going to learn to be wary of one dimensional stories -- to be aware of the single story. We are going to get suspicious of stories -- be afraid of them Good stories are simple. They have a strong narrative. You take your hero, throw them into a situation that they resist. Your hero decided to take on the bad guy but needs to learn something first. They meet a guide who teaches them, shows them what they need to learn. The hero trains, fights, loses, gets back up, fights again, gets lost, keeps going. The bad guy’s there, confronting the hero, manipulating the hero, fighting the hero. It’s dicey, but the hero wins. At this point, they might enter a cave, assimilate all they’ve learned, then journey back — renewed, stronger, better than ever. The thing is, stories work. They make us do things we wouldn’t otherwise do. They’re the backbone of propaganda and public relations. When you need an entire population to do something they wouldn’t normally do...use story -- it’ll work. When something uncomfortable and complicated happens...tell a simple story and watch your troubles disappear. It doesn’t matter whether you are young or old, rich or poor -- it doesn’t matter which country you’re from. We all use, abuse, and are used and abused by story. We needed women to en masse leave their homes and work in factories: Enter Rosie the Riveter. We needed women to en masse leave their jobs and go back home: Enter June Cleaver -- never mind that the actress who played June Cleaver on Leave it to Beaver was in fact a single working mother. We needed more revenue before the Christmas rush? Enter Black Friday...and then Cyber Monday..and whatever Tuesday...etc. Heck, Iceland needed to recover from the 2008 recession so they started telling stories about Iceland and -- coupled with great airfares from Wow Airlines -- a thriving tourism industry was born. Story has helped keep people enslaved, helped ensure we grew Victory gardens, vilify Hitler, and buy, buy, buy. Stories keep us separated and they bring us together. When we tell stories, we own that version of truth. We have a great responsibility to tell our story well. When we take in a story, we need to do so with eyes wide open, aware that we are being entertained. Hopefully able to listen and retell the same story from another point of view. Hopefully with full knowledge that the storyteller has an agenda and we’re okay with it. More Iceland tourism? Hell yes. Buying into a 24/7 consumer culture -- maybe not. Join me as we explore the underbelly of story. Get on the email list at underbelly.substack.com

“I grab a tomato, I acquire the old coin of autumn, I take in a movie, I’m arranging that kiss and that verse that nested in those immense eyelashes.” - Pablo de Rokha “I pretend to be June Cleaver, but a June with COPS hair and an old Dallas t-shirt. The word “Dallas" written in fluorescent green spray paint letters. And some ill-fitting eggplant colored corduroys from Target. A regretful buy. But we both have glazed carrots. And possibly a quiet tremble.” - Me LINKS: Buy Pablo de Rokha’s “Architecture of Dispersed Life: Selected Poetry” here: https://www.spdbooks.org/Products/9781848613775/architecture-of-dispersed-life-selected-poetry.aspx Visit Malvern Books: https://malvernbooks.com Listen to Tyler Green’s interview with me on Modern Art Notes! https://manpodcast.com/portfolio/no-416-robyn-oneil/ Check out my 20-year survey show at the Modern in Fort Worth here: https://www.themodern.org/exhibition/Upcoming/Robyn-ONeil-WE-THE-MASSES-/5115 Get your Robyn O’Neil merch here: https://shop.themodern.org Buy ME READING STUFF shirts and support The Trevor Project: https://cottonbureau.com/products/me-reading-stuff#/972221/tee-men-standard-tee-vintage-black-tri-blend-s Me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Robyn_ONeil Me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robyn_oneil/?hl=en

Think being a stay-at-home mom is for the June Cleaver era? Think again. Some of these moms are home because they "opted out" of their high-powered, well-paying jobs. Some of these moms are home because they have to be. Some of these moms are home simply because they want to be. Whatever their reason, there are four things no stay-at-home mom ever wants to hear: 1.

We are women, hear us roar! Modern women are the raddest, but we also have more on our plates than ever before. We're also absorbing information at more rapid rate now and playing the comparison game with everyone we follow on social media. With all that's being thrown at us, homemaking is more important than ever before. Now, I'm not talking about that outdated June Cleaver-esque perfectionism we all picture when I say the word "homemaking." Instead, I'm talking today about how we can still embrace running a home, even as the most awesome modern version of you that there is. Want more from this episode? Head over to www.motherlikeaboss.com/podcast/152 for the full show notes and more goodies. If you loved this episode as much as I loved sharing it, there is more where that came from. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss out. And I would just loooove if you would leave a review and rating. It's a little thing that makes a big difference and helps me to continue to bring super valuable content and fabulous guests. Have a topic you want me to cover on the podcast? Submit them to us here. This show is all for you, mama. Let's talk about the things you most want to hear about. Thanks for listening!

Hey Everyone, Angela Bowen here, the host of Together, We're Gonna Find Our Way: An Unofficial Silver Spoons Podcast. Today, I'm covering S3E6: I Won't Dance, which aired on November 4, 1984. In this episode Rick fixes his grandfather up with his teacher who is played by Barbara Billingsley (Mrs. June Cleaver from Leave It To Beaver). Join me next week for S3E9: The Call Of The Wild, which aired on November 25, 1984. In this episode Rick gets his hopes up when his mother shows up with her fiancé and makes plans to move in next door. Have a great weekend everyone!

What is funny about depression? Especially the crippling kind! Join comic Jessica Holmes along with Frank King, The Mental Health Comedian, as they share the highs and lows of stand up while dealing with functional and often nonfunctional depression!Frank King, Suicide Prevention and Postvention Public Speaker and Trainer was a writer for The Tonight Show for 20 years. Depression and suicide run his family. He’s thought about killing himself more times than he can count. He’s fought a lifetime battle with Major Depressive Disorder and Chronic Suicidality, turning that long dark journey of the soul into five TEDx Talks and sharing his lifesaving insights on Mental Health Awareness with associations, corporations, and colleges. A Motivational Public Speaker who uses his life lessons to start the conversation giving people permission to give voice to their feelings and experiences surrounding depression and suicide.And doing it by coming out, as it were, and standing in his truth, and doing it with humor. He believes that where there is humor there is hope, where there is laughter there is life, nobody dies laughing. The right person, at the right time, with the right information, can save a life.http://www.TheMentalHealthComedian.comhttp://www.facebook.com/thementalhealthcomedianA Matter of Laugh or Death https://youtu.be/IeMg6OFYfU0Suicide, The Secret of My Success https://youtu.be/3D4m33DXtsIComedian Jessica Holmes had a great career and a happy family so it seemed a bit strange that she couldn’t get off the couch.A member of the venerable comedy TV show Royal Canadian Air Farce, Holmes was also opening for the likes of Jerry Seinfeld and Ellen DeGeneres, and emceeing for Oprah.But Holmes’ sofa slump didn’t abate. Finally she was diagnosed with depression. But as any good comedian knows everything has the potential to become material so Holmes took her mental health and made it the topic of her self-deprecating, candid, and emotional and funny new book Depression the Comedy: A Tale of Perseverance (Page Two Books, April 28, 2019).Holmes talks about her postpartum depression and her second depression some years later, when she "became less of a June Cleaver and more of a David-Hasselhoff-when-his-daughter-videotaped-him-lying-facedown-on-the-bathroom-floor-unsuccessfully-trying-to-eat-a-hamburger."Recalling her frustration when "NBDs" ("Never Been Depressed") would ask, "Well, why don’t you just get out there and do something?" Holmes points out that "one of the most prevalent symptoms of depression is not feeling like doing anything, ever.""It’s an illness," she reminds us. "I’ve never met someone with Type 2 diabetes and thought: ‘See, I’ve always just eaten bags of delicious sugar and been fine, so I’m not sure why you can’t figure it out."www.jessicaholmes.com

Galatians 6:4-5 | Unfollow 3 of 7 | May 12, 2019 Comparison parenting leaves us immobilized, holding a mask and closed off from change. What if the perfect image of a mother is not what God intended for you to chase? On this Mother's Day edition of Unfollow, Sean Boyd challenges us to escape the comparison trap and instead focus on Jesus and His power to transform our hearts and minds.

This Mothers Day we want to celebrate moms as they really are!  We also want to LAUGH! Laughter is the greatest gift we could possibly give our Mom Squad on this special day.  As we have lived the mom life we have found that all moms have FAILS every day, but having FAILS does not equal FAILURE.   In fact, any woman who is willing to live life and take on mothering (no matter how it comes to her) is a SUPERHERO!   This job is not for the faint of heart.  It is for those who are willing to lay their hearts on the altar.  Those willing to try their patience WAY past breaking point (often several times a day).  Those willing to “herd cats” everywhere they go, to look like an idiot in public on a VERY regular basis, and to try to teach the most ferocious creature on earth (the toddler) how to go wee wee in the potty.  Those also willing to hug and kiss every owie, to listen, to love more than they thought humanly possible, to read, to sing, to encourage, to uplift, to cry when things go wrong, and to soar as they watch those little ones fly! Here’s to MOTHERS with ALL gifts and ALL struggles.   We hope you enjoy this week’s episode where some of our Mom Squad called and emailed us to tell of their best and funniest Mom Fails!  THIS is real momming, not the glossy June Cleaver version. The down and dirty, trying our hardest, messy, “How is there only one shoe??” , “I’m losing my mind but still here and still making dinner” - version.  We hope it brings you laughter and perspective as you celebrate your best achievement: Being a mom.

Lori and Remi cover everything from understanding and overcoming the poverty mentality, the idea of beauty, and why it's so frustrating not to see women who are running for president get the recognition they so truly deserve.  Show Notes: Barbara Lee Family FoundationSong Credit: TigZxTrap - Beatprodtigzx@gmail.comSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/Twobirdsflock)

Episode #199: As a young girl, she dreamed of being June Cleaver. Now, her fantasy life is being threatened by reality. Recorded live at our Coming of Age show on April 19, 2018 at The Carolina Theatre of Durham. 

”The Path Finder”.   A 15 minute edited highlight of our full length conversation  Skyler Mattson is the President of Wongdoody - a small creative agency that’s been  successful for 25 years. She’s also the cofounder of June Cleaver is Dead, the agency’s consultancy whose expertise is in brand experiences for moms.  Skyler is caring, determined and not a surfer. Which, metaphorically, is surprising because she rides the waves of a rapidly changing set of creative industries with great skill and grace. This week’s theme is intention.   

“The Path Finder”.   Skyler Mattson is the President of Wongdoody - a small creative agency that’s been successful for 25 years. She’s also the cofounder of June Cleaver is Dead, the agency’s consultancy whose expertise is in brand experiences for moms.  Skyler is caring, determined and not a surfer. Which, metaphorically, is surprising because she rides the waves of a rapidly changing set of creative industries with great skill and grace. This week’s theme is intention.

How did we get from June Cleaver to SVU? What does Friends get right in its representation of women, gender roles and sexuality, and which scenes make us cringe? Why hasn't Mariska Hargitay won every Emmy ever? We're going to dig into some of the golden girls of TV in every decade - from the 1950s through the present. We highlight landmark shows from every era and discuss their representations of women and how they reflect social progress. Misty takes us through the history of consensus culture, reasons to love Lucy, and what Mary Tyler Moore did for all the women who just wanna wear pants. We also talk about Roseanne, Friends, the Golden Girls, and Law & Order: SVU. We promise there are more TV episodes to come: Handmaid's Tale, Grey's Anatomy, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Kristen Bell everything, Orange Is The New Black, plus lots more. Profess-Hers is a podcast written and presented by Misty, a History professor, and Allegra, an English professor, both of whom are here for having a serious, fun conversation about looking at literature, history, current events, pop culture, and media through a feminist lens.

We remember our favorite TV and film moms on this episode of Galaxy Moonbeam Night Site. Most of the great TV shows we remember from earlier times had a family involved in the storyline. And more often than not, a mom was a part of the cast. Such moms as June Cleaver, Margaret Anderson, and Donna Stone are well remembered and much loved to this day. In the 1950s and 60s, these programs reflected life in the United States at that time, almost always showing a nuclear family. In the later 60s and in the 70s, the shows mirrored the social changes in the country and many times single moms and even men functioning in the role of moms were also featured. It's a fun look-back on many of these moms and their TV programs. Our Retro-Commercial is for Ultra Brite Toothpaste from 1968. Join us as we remember mom on this episode of Galaxy Moonbeam Night Site on the Galaxy Nostalgia Network!

Have you ever heard a man say he feels guilty for going to work? However, I guarantee you have felt guilty as woman for working.  Whether or not you are a mom, caregiver, mom to a fur baby. Single or married, gay or straight. Why is it that we women are so full of shame about pursuing paying work — and careers we're passionate about? In this episode of Like a Mother, I drill into where all this working mom guilt comes from, how it affects you, and specific steps you can take to shed the June Cleaver complex, and not only thrive and grow yourself, but support other women around you, too. Full episode transcript and resources: https://www.wealthysinglemommy.com/working-mom-guilt/

This week I have a segment on something called Hauntology, a bit on June Cleaver, a segment on lynching in Maryland, a segment on foreigners, a segment on old Adolf and bit on the fear of the past.

Form 1957 to 1963 Actor TONY DOW played Wally the eldest son of Ward and June Cleaver on the iconic All American television show, Leave it To Beaver. He has also made many television appearances on television shows like: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam-12 (Adam-12), https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_American_Style (Love American Style), https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_Rider_(1982_TV_series) (Knight Rider), https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_Pegs (Square Pegs), https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mod_Squad (The Mod Squad), https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hardy_Boys (The Hardy Boys), https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency! (Emergency!)  SUBSCRIBE to our YOUTUBE CHANNEL! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw4fcgG7ODeiEbR7HDUZl3A

We talked to Kendra Hennessy, founder of Mother Like A Boss, about what homemaking means in the modern era. It's not the June-Cleaver-vacuuming-in-pearls image you have. We also share some wonderful feedback from recent episodes.Recommended Resources:Kendra's WebsiteMother Like A Boss VaultMother Like A Boss PlaygroundTo support the show and get access to regular bonus content, visit our Patreon page. We are also thrilled to share that you can preorder your copy of our book (coming in February!). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

You can lead a horse to water, but can you convince it to eat squid. Amelia Robinson talked to Bill Castro for the latest episode of the What Had Happened Was podcast. Bill and his family have been serving the world up to Dayton for more than 40 years at their restaurant, El Meson at 903 E. Dixie Dr., West Carrollton. Bill talks about being raised in West Carrollton by the Hispanic Ward and June Cleaver and how his family’s business grew from a pizza joint to one that serves the tastes of Central America, South America and the Caribbean. (Yep, some dishes include squid.) The accomplished horse rider tells Amelia how legendary Dayton Daily News food critic Ann Heller changed the game for the restaurant now located partly in the former site of a barbershop and a famed dark and dingy biker bar. Do you remember the pork tenderloin at Pett’s? El Meson got its start in 1978, under the leadership of Bill’s parents, Herman and Gloria Castro. Now the third generation of the family is learning the ropes and the paella from Bill’s husband, chef Mark Abbott.

It's a super-duper Mother's Day themed episode of The Habit Comedy Podcast as we draft the Best Sitcom Moms. Featuring David Swidler, Lucas Thayer, and Jeff Schell. Special guest appearances by the honorable Judge Reinhold. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Please rate and review us on iTunes or Spotify or in whichever platform you use. (Unless you're one of those weirdos who uses Stitcher or something.) Reviews definitely help us stand out in a sea of podcasts. If you don't, the terrorists have already won. For a complete library of past episodes of The Habit Comedy Podcast, visit www.TheHabitComedy.com.

From Friday Night Lights’ Tami Taylor to Vivian Banks of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to Linda Belcher of Bob’s Burgers, our favorite TV shows depict mothers of all kinds. I’ve noticed something, though. While TV provides us with real, flawed mom characters to relate to, we still somehow often hold ourselves up to June Cleaver, the quintessential perfect mother. When she isn’t serving up a wholesome dinner, Mrs. Cleaver ices a cake for dessert, arranges lovely floral bouquets and, of course, keeps the family’s suburban Mayfield home exceptionally tidy. If you’re more of a perpetually 15 minutes late, takeout-ordering kind of mom, that’s cool too. Regardless of whether you’re crushing it or simply just taking motherhood one day at a time, you’re doing it, Mama, and that’s definitely something to be proud of. The post Destiney Green: She’s Your New Mom Crush appeared first on On The Dot Woman.

You don't have to be June Cleaver preparing every little thing from scratch. You don't have to be perfect. – Denise Costello On this episode of the Plan Simple Meals Podcast, I'm really excited to talk with Denise Costello, the founder of The Energized Body and co-founder of Chrysalis Center for Meditation and Wellness. Denise's journey started with food, but moved into movement. We're going to talk about both, plus an amazing experience she's offering this spring. Denise lived a very healthy lifestyle. She integrated exercise, movement, cooked and ate healthy. But when her twins were babies, she heard radio report on cancer, saying that by the time her children turned 18, one of six people would have cancer. She got really serious about protecting her family and trying to lower their risks. So she dug into integrated medicine and tried recipes and meditation—and she gathered other moms to share what she knew. Then she turned helping moms and families into a business. Two important things about Denise were that she realized a healthy lifestyle was doable—even with twins and an adopted daughter. Even when her husband was in the Navy Reserves and gone for long stretches. Even while running a business. She approached situations like making dinner with joy — and without a need to do it perfectly. We'll talk about specific tips for make it easier. We talk about: Getting your kids involved with food prep and cooking Setting your own standards of normal instead of worrying about what other people think Using a Crock Pot (I think I'm finally convinced to try) Kitchen hacks to make  prepping dinner easier Making cooking more enjoyable—Denise describes her kitchen “sitch” and why music matters Fitting in movement, being forgiving of yourself, and Denises 80% rule BIO Denise Costello is the sometimes called the Fit Foodie. She's the founder of The Energized Body and co-founder of Chrysalis Center Meditation and Wellness. She started out as a nurse and got excited about empowering individuals to maintain a healthy lifestyle, thereby keeping them out of the hospital. Her interest in health and wellness increased and got personal with the birth of her twins. Her mission is to help you eat your way happy & healthy so you can feel your best, be your best & give your best. LINKS The Energized Body Chrysalis Center for Meditation & Wellness Soulopreneur Spring Pop-up MENTIONED LINK Vanilla Bean Cake from The Spunky Coconut The Journey Dance Doable Changes from this episode: TAKE SHORTCUTS IN THE KITCHEN. Chop and freeze onions so you have them ready when you need them—or buy them pre-chopped. Look for basil, garlic, and ginger pre-chopped and frozen. What other prep could be done for you? How else could you set yourself up for ease another day? These kinds of shortcuts lead to healthier meals, instead of unhealthy choices. MAKE MEAL PREP ENJOYABLE. Create an enjoyable situation before you start cooking. Turn on music, light a candle, pour yourself a cup of tea — create the right mood. PLAN MOVEMENT. Denise says, “First you have to make movement a priority in your head, and you plan it.” Getting movement in first thing in the morning is great. You get it done before you get distracted or pulled in other directions. Getting up early can be tough for some people, but Denise suggests that when you exercise, you sleep really well, which might make getting up early easier. REALLY getting healthy as a family can be a big lifestyle change. But no matter how insurmountable it may feel, focusing on one doable change at a time can help you take small steps toward your big goal. A healthy lifestyle is really made of lots of little things that when repeated regularly and added together over time make a huge impact on your life. Choose one Doable Change every Sunday night — one thing that you are willing to play with for the week. The key is to keep it doable and fun! Write that thing on a sticky note or your phone so you remember it. Then put 3 things on your calendar that support it. Choose from the changes above or download a list of 101 Doable Changes we made for you.

It's been a little over 60 years since the debut of the iconic TV show "Leave it to Beaver". On this episode of Galaxy Moonbeam Night Site, we remember the popular family TV program that premiered in 1957, and continues today in reruns and home video. Most of us recall the adventures of Beaver and his friends, Whitey, Larry, and Gilbert, as well as the exploits of big brother Wally and his friends Lumpy and the irreverent Eddie Haskell. Added to the show mix was the guidance and council offered by Beaver and Wally's parents Ward and June Cleaver. Leave it To Beaver is portrait of a prosperous suburban mid-20th century family. Great Baby Boomer memories, whether you watched the shows as they ran each season until 1963, or decades later in reruns. Travel with us as we go to Mayfield and pay a visit to the Cleavers and friends.

I am a long time contributing writer for the Northside Sun  and was winner of the General Interest Column, Mississippi Press Award, 2007 and was a second place winner in 2014. I have written and published four books: a memoir, Come Up Churning and Keep your Buckets High,  Streams of Mercy, a book about my rescue dog, June Cleaver and a walk she and I took up the Natchez Trace to Savannah Tennessee; I have written two novels, Redemption Ridge and Saleta's Secrets and  quite a few short stories and essays. 

Traditional families have been changing over time. Things just aren’t the same as the days of Ward and June Cleaver. Statistics show that 62% of families are either blended or headed by single parents. I am a single parent, by choice, and this choice comes with challenges and a sense of freedom. Today, I’m talking with one of my clients, Melissa Mackey, who became a single parent and asked me how to be effective and get it all done.  We discuss how no one really understands what it is like until they do it. We also talk about dealing with guilt, freedom, and allowing ourselves the space and time to do what we need to do to run our businesses and keep ourselves healthy.   Freedom will never happen if we don’t allow ourselves that space and time. In This Episode of Real Money Talks:  Practicing the art of receiving and keeping our cups full Allowing yourself space and time by not feeling guilty Traveling with babies and people offering to help Teaching our children what it takes to be fearless How nothing can really prepare you for the journey     Subscribe, Rate & Share Real Money Talks!         Loral Langemeier is on a mission – to educate and empower the Real Money Talks community on how to have those important money talks that are straight, to the point, and can be applied to every aspect of your life. So, tune in every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on iTunes to learn, ask Loral a question, and create your path to financial freedom! Don’t forget to leave a review and grab your free gifts on AskLoral.com!

Have you ever heard a man say he feels guilty for going to work? [har har har] However, I guarantee you have felt guilty as woman for working.  Whether or not you are a mom, caregiver, mom to a fur baby. Single or married, gay or straight. The message is the same to all of us about who you should be as woman: Married to a rich guy, 2.2 kids, and a house.  Even if your own upbringing was progressive. Even if we almost had a woman in the White House. Even though women are the majority of undergraduate students, and 40 percent of families are headed by breadwinning women.  These pressures to be June Cleaver affect all of us. And they hold you back. Don't believe me? A few years ago, I attended a casual cocktail party in New York City, where I live. The guests were all professionally successful women in various fields: a global head of marketing for a luxury car brand, a tech startup founder, a pianist who came to the event right from a Carnegie Hall performance, the founder of an international women's aid organization. Most of us were mothers, and as I flitted from the conversations percolating around the room, one voice stood out: The woman, a married mom of a 5-year-old, who heads diversity efforts for a Fortune 500 company, described the social ostracization she feels as the only working mother in her affluent Manhattan co-op building, which happened to be populated by several dozen elementary-aged kids who often played together, and whose parents regularly socialized. She sensed snubs in the elevator, and she and her husband weren't invited to play dates or dinner parties the rest of the families enjoyed. In recounting this scenario, this woman became increasingly, visibly upset — and defensive. "My daughter is thriving in every sense!" she said to the half-dozen other, working moms who in no way called for an explanation about her life. "She is doing great at school! She is a leader! She has lots of friends!" It broke my heart — not just a little, but a lot. This woman, who had put herself through Ivy league undergraduate and business schools, who was by far the breadwinner in her family (her husband is an academic who earns a fraction of her income, she said), who clearly is passionate about a career focused on gender and race equality, felt the need to defend why she, as a mother, holds a paying job outside her home. This woman’s challenge is similar to that of a childhood friend of mine, who I visited recently. My friend spent her first 10 years of motherhood working part-time in retail, a field that doesn’t interest her, and focused instead on raising her two children while her husband was the primary breadwinner. Recently, as we sipped coffee in her kitchen while our kids played outside, I was in awe of how much she lit up with excitement as she told me about returning to school to earn a master’s degree in music education, with the plans to launch a new career in teaching. But then her tone turned hushed, and her excitement muted. “I know my kids should be enough, but they’re not,” she said with unabashed shame. “I need something for me, too.” Why is it these women are so full of shame about pursuing paying work — and careers they’re passionate about?     In this episode of Like a Mother, I drill into where all this guilt comes from, how it affects you, and specific steps you can take to shed the June Cleaver complex, and not only thrive and grow yourself, but support other women around you, too. 

Episode 25 - Critics: This Isn't For You Impartial as ever, your attractive hosts, EJ Pennyman and Ryan Dalton have a follow up to the episode about lazy crticism. Here is an episode about lazy writing. Can an auteur claim a work is not 'for the critics' as a defense of said lazy writing? Working definition of Criticism: the analysis and judgment of the merits and faults of a literary or artistic work EDIT: It was June Cleaver who spoke Jive in airplane. Also, here's a link to 'Sweet Cuppin' Cakes' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SLA57pppzI. Watch this if Ryan's ending aside leads you astray. Email the podcast at attractivepeople at cooltalkpodcast.com (Replace the at with @) Catch EJ on the tweeter at: @TextualPlacebo Catch Ryan at Twitter - @iRyanDalton RyanDaltonWrites.com Also, leave us a review where ever you download the podcast. It helps others find the show.

Do your family dinners count? I was 33 and I had five major dreams attained. Handsome husband, check. Three beautiful kids, check. A design company of my own, check. Home owner, check. A white picket fence, check. These were dreams embedded deep in my soul, since the days of lemonade stands and doll play, and 90210 episodes. But all the sudden they felt not enough. My dreams were changing. I was struggling in my role of mom. I was exhausted. I did not know how to cook, and I was being tested by a long list of home items that simply did not exist before kids. My new dreams included a full night's sleep, 10 minutes to take a shower without being interrupted, a day away (anywhere) from my family, I'm kidding, a little, but really, what I most wanted was a personal chef..., who would feed all of us and wash the dishes. But somehow those dreams felt wrong. I was a mom, and moms happily make dinner. The thing I have not mentioned is I gained 85 pounds in my first pregnancy and did not lose it. One day at my office, at about 3pm. I remember looking up at a stack of Starbucks cups — maybe five — that had collected over the course of the day. I remember thinking I have to get home soon to the kids. I remember wondering what they should have for dinner. I remember feeling exhausted and wondering how that was possible after all that coffee. I remember knowing that something had to change. So that day, staring at the coffee cups, I decided to tackle the one thing that felt tangible, my weight. And the next day — with a little help from a coach — I changed my food. I had been on a few diets in my life, but this one was different. I was eating real food. I tell people the weight melted off. but I am not sure that it was that it happened so fast or it just did not matter. Within days, I was off 3 medicines that I took daily, and my energy was off the charts (with no coffee!) I understood for the first time in my life that what I ate was attached to how I feel. How could I not have known this? I had added in foods that I had not known existed 2 weeks prior, or if I did, I would have definitely not known what to do with them - kale, collards, cacoa, nori, saurerkraut. . I needed to get my oxygen mask on first, and once it was securely on, I turned my eyes and heart to my 4-year old daughter who was not thriving. She did not pay attention in school, she had a hard time sleeping, and she was covered in eczema. And nothing that doctors were prescribing was working — from therapy or cream. Luckily, I was able to turn to food. One week after no dairy and no gluten, we had a different child. She was rash free, and her teacher felt she had a new child in the classroom. Meanwhile, I had dove into the world of food. I did this by talking to every health “guru” who would take my call. I learned so much about food and ingredients from this group, but the thing that stuck out to me most was that lots of their kids rebelled and left the house to eat crap. And this is when I realized my work as a mom was one part food and one part parenting. My goal became learning how to raise kids who would someday become healthy adults. And to be clear, by healthy I mean mean using all the tools that are in our control and come from the natural world  to avoid sickness and brain fog  — food, sleep, water, exercise to name a few. We almost always look at what we need to eliminate when we think of getting healthy, whether it's our health, our kids health or our family's health, but it is also important to think about what we are putting in — from fruits and veggies to our day to day experiences. I know the minute I talk about “adding” anything it can feel overwhelming. Who has time to add one more thing? And it's that concern that is at the very heart of what I want to share with you today. The food you eat really does make a difference to your health. Nine servings of fruits and veggies a day. That's the latest recommendation from the new dietary guidelines released by the departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services. Lots of research suggests that a diet high in fruits and veggies can lower blood pressure. 1 in 3 American Adults suffer from high blood pressure. In fact, studies show that a diet rich in vegetables and fruits can lower blood pressure, reduce risk of heart disease and stroke, prevent some types of cancer, lower risk of eye and digestive problems, and have a positive effect upon blood sugar which can help keep appetite in check. (Harvard School of Public Health) Remember how I said eventually the weight did not matter? Let me explain. My entire teen and adult life I took a hormone medicine to get my period that made me super depressed. 5 days after I changed my diet, I got a period and it has been regular ever since. Everyday of my adult life, I took medicine for seasonal allergies, so my drooping puffy eyes would not affect my business. One week in, no more allergy medicine. Energy off the charts. Skin glowing. A year in, I had not taken an antibiotic for my chronic ear infections. In fact, I had not had an ear infection. It has been 7 years now that I've been ear infection free. I know that it can feel difficult to add fruits and veggies when we aren't in a fruit and veggie culture. We are living in a narrative that says organic cheezy bunny crackers are good for us, donuts are awesome, and why deprive a kid of their childhood? In fact  why would we prevent our kids from little league, ballet, art class, or  a playdate? Or any of the 100 other activities that keep us busy, and may be preventing us from getting dinner on the table. Which leads me to the second thing we need — a way to add in more quality time with our families through meals. This is a big deal. According to The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, kids and teens who share family dinners three or more times per week: Are less likely to be overweight Are more likely to eat healthy food Perform better academically Are less likely to engage in risky behaviors (drugs, alcohol, sexual activity) Have better relationships with their parents Whether good or bad, my guess is you can map some of your food habits back to the kitchen you grew up in. In my case, we always had dinner together, but I grew up when microwaves came out, TV dinners were the rage, and take out and fast food were a novelty. So we indulged in all of them! It was not about the food. My guess is that if you are anything like me, food and family dinners can feel like a full-time job assignment, but we don't have full-time hours to assign to this task. And if you are really like me, you might not even want to spend those hours in the kitchen, even if you had them! And that's what I'm excited to share with you. A way to make all of this happen that works for you, that works for your family. We don't have to do all of this at once. In fact, we are far more likely to have success in the long run if we take on one doable change at a time, and focus how to do or consume our doable change in a way that fots into our calendar and lifestyle. You do have to try to fit it. Experiment with one healthy change a week that will help you change your mind about food or time. I have expanded of 7 of my doable change: 101 Doable Changes 7 Doable Mindset Changes 7 Doable Kitchen Changes 7 Doable Planning Changes 7 Doable Family-focused Changes 7 Doable Food Changes 7 Doable Changes of the 2.0 Variety Focusing on something each week creates momentum. I have a feeling that you already knew that a clean diet that consists of lots of fruits and veggies is the way to go before I started talking. We grew up with the phase “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Or “eat your veggies before leaving the table.” Many of us grew up eating as a family around a table. Somewhere our parents made it look easy, or maybe too hard. Somewhere along the line the grocery store got really complicated with 100s of breakfast cereals, each more exciting than the next to a child's eye. Somewhere, we got too busy. But we know the positive impact of fruits and vegetables and coming together each night. And if I, a non-cooking mom, who had never tried kale or sushi before age 30, who escaped to work in the early days of motherhood to have a break, can make healthy work in my kitchen, then I promise so can you. Now that you have some strategies that you can start experimenting with in your home, I need you to take a step back and really feel why you want to be healthier and happier in the first place. I need you to want to step into this role. I need you to understand the importance that dinner at your table will have on your future, your kids future and your larger community. It is a ripple effect. Imagine that you feel amazing because of the food you are feeding your body. That means you have energy with or without a cup of coffee. You rarely get sick, but when you do, you bounce back quickly. Your mind feels clear. Imagine that throwing together a meal is not stressful. Not because you have miraculously turned into June Cleaver or Martha Stewart but because you feel great and you know what you have to do and when you have to do it! Imagine that dinners are a time you look forward to because you get to connect with your kids. And even when you have a bad day, you know what an impact this 30 minutes has on your children's future — emotionally and healthwise. Heck, if you are really present and honest, it has this effect on you. I am not saying this path is easy. But it is important. And it can be simple. What is your next doable change? What one think will you focus on next week? That is all you need to know right now. And then you just have to play with it, and make it work in your life. If you have gotten this far, you will want to sign up for the calendar cleanse. It is free, and will guide you with a simple calendar prompt each day that will give you time for food — time you already have but got lost in the shuffle of parenting.

Dear Mother Who Is Trying to Do It All, You are an amazing mother and person. You are not June Cleaver, effortlessly gliding across your perfectly waxed kitchen floor, freshly baked cookies in hand, sporting high heels, pearls, and an impeccably ironed apron. Nor are you Peggy Bundy, lounging on the couch watching endless TV while smoking and eating bonbons. You are a real person doing the best you can to meet the impossible standards society (and ourselves) have set. Motherhood and the environment in which we are raising our children has dramatically changed in the last several decades. Many of us are undertaking this daunting task without the support of family around; we are creating our own villages. The expectations of what mothers provide has also changed. In the 1950s only 19% of mothers of school-age children worked outside the home. Today that number is 70% percent. However, there is constant pressure to blend these two ideologies. On one hand, mothers are supposed to embody both emotional and financial independence, be hard working, determined, and educated, and flaunt a physique maintained by weekly (daily!) visits to the gym, yoga, or with a personal trainer. On the other hand, mothers are also supposed to offer emotional, mental, and physical support to our offspring, be neither helicopter parents nor too hands off, create healthy and balanced meals in our clean and organized kitchens, and ensure our children are neither overscheduled nor under-stimulated. Trying to be this contemporary women and mother is exhausting and, quite frankly, impossible. So today I invite you to reflect on all your amazing accomplishments! Many of you have created another human being, carried and birthed that person, and are lovingly raising that child to the best of your ability. You are offering all the love and guidance that you can muster, and even that will vary from day to day.  Next time your inner critic or the voices of people around you start to criticize or judge your mothering, please remember you can only do what you can do. There is no script to follow to help you get everything neatly and humorously tied up at the end of the day. You are just one person. As you lay down to sleep, please remind yourself that you are an amazing mother and person.   Happy Mother’s Day! With the utmost love and respect, Deb Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Karla Parker joins the gang again this week to chat about some of our favorite Mom's in TV and Movies. They are not your traditional June Cleaver's. They make us laugh, cry, cheer and even squirm.

Doesn't cooking with kids take MORE time? Well... maybe... but maybe that extra time is worth it, so that our kids can learn an essential skill for life. Listen in as Jess talks with Tracy Grossman about: Why not just be "June Cleaver" and do it all yourself? Practical ideas for including kids in your meal preparation Why it's good for our kids to learn to cook

We heard your cries and we are here to satisfy your Earthly desires for a new episode of The Grave Plot Podcast! Today we have perhaps our most troubling Real World Horror story yet, followed by some much lighter topics including updates on Friday the 13th, a new film adaptation of a Stephen King book (I know, shocker, right?), and uncovering the legend of the hidden Temple. We've also got updates on our old friend Jessica Cameron and a new comic from the creator of Sons of Anarchy. We also talked to the woman who put the "cleaver" in June Cleaver, the Martha Stewart of the Macabre, the Homicidal Homemaker Kaci Hansen. Kaci tells us about her horror-themed cooking show as well as her other endeavors within the genre. She also discusses the horror community and inspiring horror fans of tomorrow. In our movie reviews, we examine the supernatural thriller The Other Side of the Door and the latest from writer/director Mike Flanagan, Hush. They're both potentially difficult to get your eyeballs on, but is it worth it if you can? Listen and find out. NOTE: At the end of the episode we said that our next reviews would be Before I Wake and Holidays. This was before we realized that Relativity Media pushed Before I Wake off their schedule. We will be watching Darling instead.

The new moms are exhausted and punchy. Mollie sits with Jenny and Edith and confesses her baby’s latest developmental leap and everyone asking “is he walking?” has put her over the edge. The women talk about how to navigate unsolicited comments and questions from strangers with humor. The girls discuss the trials and tribulations of being “older moms”. Mollie admits she cussed out her one-year-old. Edith asks how to have a good sex life after the baby and talks about all the bald white babies at her mommy and me groups. Swallowing pennies, going potty in public with your baby, stopping breastfeeding--new mom shit, raw, candid, uncensored, and honest. Notes: Man was I pissed during this show! Sorry for the F bombs folks, I was just really over it. I know not to let the leaps and my insecurities from other people's comments piss me off so much. We are in a much better place now. Did we sound like June Cleaver talkin’ about meeting our husband’s sexual needs? Maybe a little. Oh well, June and Ward had a pretty rockin’marriage. If you know anything about men, then you know they are pretty simple. Feed them, F*ck them, and tell them they are awesome weekly and they will do whatever you want. We love our husbands, and unless you have a medical condition and your husband's a sexual deviant, try giving him a little lovin’ every week and everyone will be in a better mood. Sex is like exercising: you might not want to do it, but if you do it every week you will be a in a better mood and you will feel better once you start. Get these two books: The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp and The Wonder Weeks. The Wonder Weeks has an app, too.

If I had a dollar for everytime someone who loved god told me he wished I had never been born I would be diving in Scrooge Mc Duck style vaults of gold coins, and doing back strokes through rubies. I don't know why I do it. Why do I always want to talk to men standing on bible soapboxes? So there I was minding my own business on an epic date to see the best musical of all actual time, Hamilton, with my favorite person ever Navin. He is a gorgeous caramel colored Indian man, which obviously angered our lord and savior because out of nowhere this very angry man was yelling that particular blend of hypocritical diametrically opposed hooey of love and hate that ONLY religious zealots can master. Why do I always stop? What is actually wrong with me? I can't help it. They are my meth, the flame to my moth antennae, and I cannot keep away from their glittery hot white light. I just want once, just once to have an articulate conversation with someone about Jesus. I Challenge you internet universe, to send me someone with heart and wit who I can talk to me about why the laws of science don't apply to them, why it's ok to preach love and acceptance but marginalize those who are different and vilify woman for stepping out of the June Cleaver box they'd like to put all our Vaj's in. Come on. One intelligent debate. It must be possible. Until then, pray for my cursed soul and maybe send me some new shoes? Honestly, because if my soles look more valuable than my soul, my soul IS SO SO CHEAP, flat and used.

Just as sure as a woman's MENstruation is a given and(for life-until her her 'change of life' aka "MENOPAUSE occurs); she will need to learn how to deal with her monthly. And in addition to her menstruation and menopause, women need to learn and know "men" (too)-for her emotional, spiritual and mental continuity and flow... In this digital day and age where women have taken control of their lives, and livelihood's far up and over in ways that make the women's liberation movement look like a primitive June Cleaver episode, women (now, more than ever) need to know the signs of one of the worse traits in men: Misogyny. While not all men are misogynists; the scary part about it is that misogynistic behaviors in most often times isn't as laid out on the table as one would think. While this particular podcast isn't as extensive as I should have made it, and because I am a writer-conditioned to reach for my pen (or keyboard) before the tedious setup to record; I took a moment to interject this necessary piece of pod and direct my listeners to excerpts from my (not yet published) book titled: "Feel Like a Lady, Deal Like a Man - Tips & Secrets on Everything from Self Esteem, Friends, Love, Sex and Men." There, I have a VERY informative chapter on misogyny and the mechanics and makings of it. After listening to the pod, tap in to the blog to get enlightened and ennobled ► https://goo.gl/PciTbK

Click for Shownotes Ladies this is message to you, but the truth is it is first a message to myself because it is what I need to hear most right now. You know how they tell you on a plane to put your own oxygen mask on first before you help anyone else. It seems so counterintuitive. As women we are raised to think of others before ourselves. But if we don’t follow those very important instructions in an airplane emergency, we may endanger ourselves and our children. I find the same true in day to day life. If we don’t take time to take care of ourselves, it impacts our whole world and may endanger our relationships and our own health. My Breaking Point In the last 3 years I have had two babies and launched a new business. That was on top of raising a teenager, running another business with my husband, running a home and being a wife. To say the least it has been a busy time. Recently, I hit a breaking point. I had baby Jett almost 9 months ago and feel like my home, my health and even my relationship with my husband has gotten out of control. I started thinking about changes I could make and who I could use as a guide. Guess what – the role model was right there in front of me. My awesome Mom, Roseanne Cook. I realized my Mom had unknowingly passed on lessons on how I could “put my oxygen mask on first”, without ever speaking a word about it. She passed on this wisdom by how she lived, what she made a priority and what she did not. 7 Important Lessons from My Mom How to Take Care of You So You Can Take Care of Others Take Care of Your Body My Mom has always taken care of her body by working out and eating healthy food. She has a slight leg up in this in that she was a combination English/PE major in college and was teaching middle school PE when she had me and later was an adaptive PE teacher (which means she is skilled in adapting activities to kids with down syndrome, autism and other special needs). When I was growing up in the 70’s, there weren’t a bunch of gyms and yoga studios around, but my Mom would work out at the YMCA or speed-walk around the neighborhood. In the 80’s she got into Jazzersize and the last 10 years she has been doing a lot of low impact workouts like water aerobics and yoga. What I realized is that my Mom makes working out a priority in her week. Even when we had a crazy busy schedule of after school activities, she would often walk the track at the school where my brother and I had swim practice. Next Step: My takeaway is that I need to schedule workouts and mark them on my calendar. If I don’t plan them and arrange for childcare or my husband to help, they are not going to happen.     I’m happy to report that I have gone to spin class 3 times in the last 7 days (twice at 5:45AM). Maintain Your Friendships Earlier this year I had a tear fest crying to my husband about feeling really lonely. I have a lot of friends “online” who I interact with every day, but have struggled to find time to meet a local girlfriend for lunch or coffee. The root of this is feeling that I need to use the time I have my nanny here to work (not workout or see a friend). My Mom is huge on connecting in person with people and throughout my life I have observed her cultivating and making time for her friends. She used to have regular lunch date with her BFF Kay or they would just pop by each others houses for a cup of coffee and a chat. She also would go shopping and out to lunch once in a while with her friend Mary. My parents were part of a Bunco group that met once a month at each other’s homes. If you don’t know what bunco is you can google it.  But basically it is a dice game and they would share a meal each time and have prizes. I remember it being fun when it was hosted at our house because I got to hang out with my parent’s friends while they snacked on yummy appetizers and desserts, then see my parents having fun with their friends as I headed off to bed (make no mistake I often got snuck of bed to see more of the fun…at least until I got caught).   Next Step: I don’t need to feel guilty about using time I have childcare to see a friend.  Also, this is something that I need to plan ahead and schedule for. There are also a few women I have met that I want to get to know better. They have kids my boy’s ages so I can reach out to them to meet at the park for a playdate and don’t need childcare for that. Mark and I really enjoy hanging out with other families and we need to be more intentional about that.   I’m happy to report that I have started meeting a local business friend for coffee once a month and am being intentional about scheduling time with my girlfriends and it just fills me up when we get together!   Date Your Husband One of the things I appreciate most about my parents marriage which is closing on 45 years strong is that I know my Mom and Dad are still in love. They truly enjoy each others company and have maintained a passionate relationship through the ups and downs of life. My parents always dated each other. One of my favorite memories is of my parents getting dressed up in the 70’s in their disco outfits and going out dancing. It is still fun to see my parents moves on the dance floor. They showed me that their marital relationship is a priority. As a Mom myself now, I know all the work that goes into planning a date. My mom had to arrange a sitter, figure out our dinner and possibly plan the date too (since this seems more like her skill set than my dad’s).   Next Step:  Mark and I really need to work towards a weekly date night, but for now we can start with once a month and work up to the once a week goal. For now daytime dates are OK, since baby Jett is very mommy-centric at night. Also, we can meet for lunch during the week when our nanny is here or my Mom is here for the day. For our stage of life, it involves a bit of creativity.   Yeah we went on a date a few weeks ago. I booked my nanny to come for 4 hours on a Saturday. My parents are coming this Friday for the day and we are both going to take the day off work to spend time together.   Hire Help I’m so thankful my Mom showed me it is OK to hire help. I spent my formative years in a very blue collar town and doubt that anyone else in our neighborhood had a housekeeper. When I was in elementary school, my Mom worked full time and my Dad worked full-time plus he was starting his own civil engineering business on the side. When I interviewed my Mom about how she has maintained a Productive Home, my mom shares that she decided “I was worthy to have help with my home.” This also included help fixing things too. My Dad is super handy and can fix almost anything, but if he is too busy my Mom will hire those projects out.   Next Step: While I have outsourced a lot in my home and am thankful to have a nanny who helps me 3 days a week, I do need to find a few babysitters that are available for hire for date nights. Also, I want to hire an organization consultant to come help me with some problem areas in my home. In addition, I need to call our handyman to come do things Mark is too busy to do.   I have not made any progress in this area yet, but stay tuned!   Pamper Yourself (hair cut/color, nails, now massages) My Mom showed me it was OK to take spend money on pampering myself. She had those acrylic nails in the 80’s and 90’s and of course she rocked an awesome perm. So, I saw my Mom making herself a priority and often accompanied her to get her nails or hair done.   Next step:  I have a tendency to wait until things are looking really bad before I make a grooming appointment. It comes back to scheduling. I need to plan in advance when my next few hair appointments are.  Also, I want to get a manicure and pedicure once a month, staring this week (my toes need help).   Have Hobbies I saw throughout my life that my Mom had other interests besides work and being a Mom. She usually was involved in some type of art activity. For years it was toll painting. In the last 10+ years, she has gotten really into gardening. First it was growing roses, which is perfect since her name is Roseanne. But now, she and my Dad are really focused on growing their own food. My Mom also has spent a lot of time volunteering with organization that benefit children with special needs like the Special Olympics or Autism Camps. In addition, she serves at her church in a variety of ways.   Next step: So I realize I do not have a hobby right now unless you consider posting to social media for biz or personal a hobby. Does making images in Canva or Wordswag count? No, I don’t think so.   I used to like to make homemade cards and I started knitting a few years ago, but only ever made a few scarfs.  I’m not sure what my next hobby is going to be, but I am going to open myself up to something new. Stay tuned for that too.   Take Time to Look Nice My Mom always looks put together. It’s not like she waltzes around the house dressed like June Cleaver. She just sets some time aside each morning to take a shower, get dressed and throw some make-up on. Granted she doesn’t have little kids to deal with, but she did this even when we were little. In fact, my Dad leaves the house every day around 5AM to go work out and then get to work early, so my Mom figured out how to shower safely with two little ones.  She would lock us all in the bathroom while she took a shower. I remember trying so hard to break out of there while she showered with the door half open so she could check on our mischief. I also remember watching my Mom sit in front of her vanity mirror and put on her make-up. I often find myself halfway through the day still unshowered and in yoga pants.  Ok, let’s be real, it sometimes is the end of the day and I am smelly and in yoga pants and never worked out. Also, when we are going somewhere as a family, I spend time getting everyone else ready, packing the diaper bag and snacks that I’m left with little or no time for myself, so I end up with my hair in a ponytail and trying to put on mascara in the car which doesn’t always end well. Next step: I need to make getting me ready a priority especially when we are going somewhere as a family. Also, I can delegate some of the tasks I normally do to help the family leave to my husband or daughter or get stuff ready the night before.   I also need to be honest with myself about whether or not I am going to work out. If it is not going to happen, I need to get dressed into real clothes. Hey no offense if you live in yoga pants, but I don’t feel my best going out in public in them. So thanks Mom for teaching me these 7 ways to take care of myself. I’m prepared to put my oxygen mask on first now. How do you put yourself first and what other tips did your Mom or other mentors teach you? Share in the comments below or Tweet Me! Please subscribe in iTunes to hear interviews of amazing female entrepreneurs. Click here to join the Biz Chix community (free) and get an invitation to our Private Facebook Group for Female Entrepreneurs Thank you to our Sponsor:

As a single mother I believe that there are many different things that contribute to feeling overwhelmed. It's not just the fact that we are single parents, there are often more contributing factors than that. The first one being that we feel like we have to be all and do all... that there is no one else to do it so we have to be the one to make it all happen. It's up to us to keep 8 million balls up in the air at all times. And we can't ever drop any. Ever. That's a lot of pressure to put ourselves under. The next thing that adds to the state of overwhelm is expectations. Having expectations that are not realistic can lead to a feeling of overwhelm because you aren't meeting them. Trying to live up to some idealistic idea of what a mother should be doing or how your house should look or the things you should have accomplished is going to always make you feel like you aren't doing enough. That you aren't enough. And it will often cause you to try and do more and more than you are able to at this moment. Some days I can do a million different things and be completely successful at them all. Some days the only success I have had is getting the laundry out of the wash and into the dryer before it starts to smell. I realized long ago that I would never be June Cleaver - and I'm totally ok with that. There are many other factors that contribute to that feeling of overwhelm and in today's podcast I discuss how we can create those feelings by setting unhealthy or unrealistic expectations on ourselves. By not accepting help when available or offered... and more.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey everybody, we're back with a new episode. We really turned our formula on its ear by watching something we enjoyed, an episode of Muppet Babies. During this episode, we're a man down, as someone had the unmitigated gall to be sick and not present. But the remainder of the team carried on, stalwart and bold, like the fearless troopers we are.  Anywho, in this episode you will thrill as we discuss Sean's potential contraction of Space AIDS, Tim discusses his unabiding love of June Cleaver, we forge new paths as we try and determine why this show actually holds up a entertainment (as opposed to what we normall watch) and we interview Skeeter, the only cast member who didn't do any other projects with the rest of the Muppet crew. Here's a hint, Skeeter's got some problems folks... Enjoy and why not tell a friend?

June Cleaver's parenting approach doesn't work in a social media world. Tips to raising a 21st-century child.

Before we even start the 76th episode we must say good bye to Ms. Barbara Billingsley the voice of Nanny, and June Cleaver. Then it’s time to get cute and cuddly as Mike and Kevin head into the imaginations of the Muppet Babies!! http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/news/Barbara-Billinglsey-is-no-longer-with-us/ Geeks: Mike “TFG1? Blanchard Kevin “Optimus Solo” Thompson Subscribe to us ...

Episode 61 of PotterFicWeekly has been released! The premise: An evening with Ryan, LadyChi, PS, Mike, Kezza, and Anne Walsh! The objective: Podcast on Chapters 20-37 of Melindaleo’s Power of Emotion! The goal: Be on topic and don’t offend anyone! The reality: We can’t walk down the street without walking into a parking meter on […]

The two icons of 50’s TV were Dragnet’s Joe Friday and June Cleaver,domestic goddess on “Leave it To Beaver”. He was all about the facts,while her thing was house, hearth and doting on her sons: especiallythe unfortunately nick-named youngest lad … Continue reading →

This week Maria is joined by Christopher Auer, co-author of "Parenting a Child Sensory Processing Disorder."  A comprehensive guide to parenting a child with SPD and integrating his or her care with the needs of the whole family.  Next, Aviva Goldfarb founder of “The Six O’Clock Scramble", a weekly email newsletter, that provides five dinner recipes and a corresponding grocery list to its subscribers.  Most take 30 minutes or less to prepare and have fewer than ten ingredients. Then, Ann Dunnewold, Ph.D , author of “EVEN JUNE CLEAVER WOULD FORGET THE JUICE BOX?:  Cut Yourself Some Slack (And Still Raise Great Kids) In The Age of Extreme Parenting and also, Steve Isaac, advisor to StudentProspector.com, a leading Internet resource for college planning that matches prospective students with the right schools.

sermon transcript Introduction Well, I'd like to wish all of you that are mothers Happy Mother's Day, and I am delighted to be able to open up Proverbs 31 to you this morning. Now, we were talking in the staff, and none of the staff had ever heard an exposition on Proverbs 31. We'd heard it read or alluded to it a number of times, but to actually go carefully through the word has been a rich privilege for me over the last few weeks, and I rejoice in that. The Attack on Biblical Motherhood in Popular American Culture We live in America, we live in a culture that formerly honored motherhood. There was a time when the role of a mother, and a godly wife, and a well-ordered godly home was clearly established and esteemed, but that is no longer the case. In the last 50 years, we've seen a universal cultural attack on the concept of a godly wife and mother, and a well-ordered home. Now recently, I came across one of these books written by a woman named Susan J. Douglas, it was entitled, The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How It Has Undermined Women. Now, it attacks the basic idea of the perfect housewife, the unattainable standards of a well-ordered home and well-mannered children with finely honed sarcasm. I have to admit, it was somewhat humorous to read, but the message was terrible. She was talking about what it's like to just come home from the supermarket and what it would be like to be a perfect wife and mother in that simple situation. This is what she wrote: “If you were a ‘good mom’ you’d joyfully empty the shopping bags and transform the process of putting the groceries away into a fun game your kids love to play (upbeat Raffi songs would provide a lilting soundtrack). Then, while you steamed the broccoli and poached the chicken breasts in Vouvray and Evian water,” - it's a recipe hint, I guess, right in the middle of it - “you and the kids would also be doing jigsaw puzzles in the shape of the United Arab Emirates so they learned some geography. Your cheerful teenager would say, ‘Gee, Mom, you gave me the best advice on that last homework assignment.’ When your husband arrives, he is so overcome with admiration for how well you do it all, that he looks lovingly into your eyes, kisses you and presents you with a diamond anniversary bracelet…. The children, chattering away happily, help you set the table, and then eat their broccoli. After dinner, you all go out and stencil autumn leaves on the driveway.” Well, let me tell you, there's a great deal of mockery about the image of a homemaker and a godly wife. She, this author, mentions June Cleaver nine times in the book, every time with a sense of mockery. She is the picture of the ideal 1950's style housewife. But I believe that the value of a well-ordered and godly home has never been clearer in American society now that it's under attack, and there has never, in my opinion, been a greater need for the church to step up and speak clearly and truthfully and with words of great encouragement and praise to this very issue. This is the time for the church to step into the breach and to speak the truth about what it means to be a godly wife and a godly mother, and I can't think of no better passage to do that than Proverbs 31, what's commonly called "the virtuous wife". The Context of Proverbs 31:10-31 The context is very interesting. Now Proverbs 31 is the final chapter of that book of practical wisdom, The Book of Proverbs, rubber meets the road wisdom, how to live everyday life in a wise way. The final chapter is, interestingly, advice given by a godly mother to her son who's sitting on the throne. She's, in effect, I think, a Queen Mother. King Lemuel is not one of the Hebrew kings, he's not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible. And so, in Proverbs 31, it says, "The sayings of King Lemuel," which he learned from his mother, and here we see the influence of a godly mother over a whole life, not just at the very beginning. Her desire is that his reign should prosper, that the nation should flourish under his rule, and she warns him specifically to show restraint concerning women and wine. Look back a little bit at Proverbs 31:2-3, there she says this, "O my son, O son of my womb, O son of my vows, do not spend your strength on women and your vigor on those who ruin kings." In contrast to the kind of woman who can ruin a man - who can ruin a king - she wants to set up an ideal woman, the kind of woman he should seek to be his wife and his helper in his rule. But this advice is not just for him and how he personally is gonna find a godly wife, but really extends to all of the marriages that would make up his reign. A nation is only gonna be as strong as the health of the homes, and therefore, this woman is not necessarily the wife of a king, but it says her husband is respected in the city gate, etcetera. This is a universal advice given for all wives and all marriages in his reign and in his realm. Now, this passage, Proverbs 31, has perhaps the greatest potential to put women under the pile and make them feel discouraged than any other chapter in the Bible. Perhaps you might have looked down and said, "Oh, no, here's Proverbs 31 and more ways that I can feel terrible about myself as a wife and a mother." This is not what it's meant to do. I actually believe there's no more reason for a woman to feel discouraged when reading Proverbs 31 than any of us should when we read the Sermon on the Mount. Who can live the Christian life depicted perfectly in the Sermon on the Mount? None of us can. And yet there it is, beckoning us higher in our lives. Or even just a simple line from the Apostle Paul in one of his epistles, like Ephesians 4:2 says, "Be completely humble and gentle. Be patient, bearing with one another in love." Now, does that put you under the pile to read that? It could. You could say, "When have I ever been completely humble and gentle, patient, bearing perfectly with one another in love?" None of us ever does any of this perfectly, but the word of God stands for the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, beckoning us up higher, and so Proverbs 31 does that. It's not meant to be a discouragement, but rather an encouragement and an exhortation. Her Description: A Wife of Valor A Wife of Courageous Virtue So what I'd like to do is just go through these verses and try to draw out aspects of this virtuous woman, this virtuous wife. Let's begin with her description in verse 10. She is a wife of valor. It says in verse 10, "A wife of noble character...". Who can find that passage in the NIV? "Gives us noble character." Literally, it's a wife of courageous virtue. I found this interesting, the Hebrew word used here is sometimes translated "army", like a powerful army, or a man of valor, a courageous man of valor, someone like Simeon, or Samson, or Gideon, or David who can take on a battle and fight courageously. David's mighty men of valor, the same word is used here. You know all of his list of mighty men, like this man in 2 Samuel 23:20, “Benaiah,” it says, “was a valiant fighter…” - the same word is used here in verse 10. He, “…performed great exploits. He struck down two of Moab's best men, he also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed the lion.” So that's the nature of this word, it's a word of valor, of courage, of strength. A Heroine of Almost Mythic Proportions Now, the Proverbs 31 woman has shown, in my opinion, no less valor in putting together a godly home and be a godly wife than this man Benaiah who went down and killed a lion on a snowy day. Now, you may ask what is so courageous about the woman of valor? Well, again, the focus of this woman is the maintenance of a godly home. A godly home is an oasis of peace and rest and renewal and strength, spiritual strength, in a maelstrom of satanic rebellion against God. And how much strength does it take to carve that out in this world? How much strength does it take to stand in the middle of a whitewater river up to the chest and not move? How much strength would it take to go out in a hurricane - in a storm - and take your stand and not move? I found a man, I was doing some research, and this man, Louis Cyr, was the first professional strong man; he went from place to place at the end of the 19th century doing feats of strength and people would pay him to do it. And there's this grainy black and white photo of this man out in the middle of farmland, he's taken a stand like that and his arms are like this, and there's a harness attached to a horse on left arm and right arm pulling the opposite direction, and this guy is there - like that - and the horses are losing. Now, I feel like a godly housewife probably feels like that, trying to carve out a place of peace and rest when she's being pulled in every direction: the phone is ringing, the children are crying, husband has incessant needs, always needs. Whether he knows it or not, he has incessant needs - ladies, you know what I'm talking about - but they're pulled in all directions. It takes a woman of valor to carve out a piece of refuge and place of spiritual renewal. And so, Proverbs 31 pictures a godly wife and mother as a heroine of almost mythic proportions. Her Value: Greater Than Rubies The Greatest Thing a Husband Can DO: VALUE Your Wife Secondly, we see her value. Her value is greater than rubies. Verse 10, it says, "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies." Husbands, the greatest thing you can do is to praise and encourage your wife in her godly calling, to give her the strength and the encouragement. This is what it says in Hebrews 10, that we should, “…encourage one another, and all the more, as you see the day drawing near, provoking one another to love and good deeds.” This is something a husband can do, is encourage his wife, and it begins with having a right assessment of her value - that he sees the value of this godly woman - and so, she's compared to rubies. More Valuable than Rubies Rubies were among the rarest and hardest to find of all of the precious gems in the ancient world. Now, some scholars believe that they could only be brought by camel caravan from the distant parts of Afghanistan, and so they were very rare, perhaps even rarer than diamonds or pearls were rubies. And the statement right there, a woman of noble character, "Who can find?" implies that she's very difficult to locate, she is rare. Now, all over the world men are searching, single men, searching for the perfect wife, for the perfect wife, and looking at it from a worldly point of view, looking at worldly standards, what does it take to be a perfect wife? Well, the standards are much lower in the world than they are listed here. Usually they have to do with physical beauty and external qualities. At the end of Proverbs 31, it talks about charm and beauty, saying, “Charm is deceptive and beauty is vain...”. The Bible itself acknowledges how difficult it is to find a godly wife and a godly mother; it says in Proverbs 19:14, "Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord," and so we see her incredible value. Her Focus: A Godly Home Life The Entire Focus of this Virtuous Woman: A Godly Home Life Thirdly, we see her focus, and her focus is a godly home life. The entire focus of this virtuous woman is setting up or carving out in the middle of that hurricane storm of satanic opposition to God, carving out a place of refuge and peace for herself and her husband, and her family. Now mark this, she is not cooped up, she's not penned up, she's not chained to the stove; she has a wide scope in her life and ministry. Look at verse 14, it says, “She is like the merchant ships bringing her food from afar.” Verse 16 says, “She's out considering a field and buying it.” Verse 20 says, “She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.” So she's out in the community, she's out doing things, but the focus of her activity is the blessing of the home; that's their home base at the center of her ministry. She's a constant blessing to her husband, to her children. Modern Women Drawn Away from the Home Now, in the 21st century, women are hearing constantly a siren call away from the home and out into the professional workplace. It's going on all the time. Some of this mockery, like I read earlier, is part of that; you feel like you're gonna be a person of no consequence if you were to stay at home, you're only a wife or mother, only a housewife, made to feel like you're nothing if this is what you do. Now, it can hardly be argued after what's happened in the last 30 years, that women do not have the intelligence, or the capability, or the drive, or the inventiveness, or administrative ability to be successful out in business. They're doing it all the time. It's going on right in front of us. So the question is not, can a woman do this? The question is, what is God's best for herself, for her husband, her children, for the kingdom of God? Not, can I do this? But what is best? What will produce the greatest eternal fruitfulness? And I think only God can tell us what that is, he knows how to organize a world; he knows how to organize a family, a church and society. So the question is not, what can I do? But what is best for me to do? What should I do? Easy to Underestimate the Value of a Well-Ordered Home Now, I think it's easy to underestimate the value of a well-ordered home. People who sneer at homemaking, sneer at the value of a godly home, who make jokes about June Cleaver, they don't know what they're talking about. They don't have any sense of the value of a godly home. God places a high value on the physical side of life, he gave us bodies, and there's something to be said for a lifetime of nutritious meals, of organized home, of clean sheets, of the physical side of life that this godly woman is ministering to. The husband himself needs a place where he can come and be encouraged, a refuge for him where he can be renewed and strengthened, or else he's going to easily become discouraged or slide off into mediocrity. She is setting up a base of operations for him to advance the kingdom of God, and they do it together. And so therefore, I think a godly wife and a godly mother, her focus being on the family, her life is only as valuable as the souls of the people in that family, and God says those are infinitely valuable. Her Character: Comprehensive Wisdom Character Traits of a Woman of Valor Fourth, we see her character, and it's one of comprehensive wisdom. Now, I went through verses 10-31 very carefully, I read through every verse, and I drew out from each verse whatever virtue or character trait I could find, and I ended up with 27 different character traits, and I thought this is going to be the longest sermon I have ever preached in my life. They were saying I should make a book available to all of you and be grateful it's only gonna be as long as it is, because these 27 virtues are each of them worth talking about. I would urge you to do that yourselves, just go through and say, "What does this verse tell me about this godly woman?" What I wanna do instead is just zero in on some that are especially pronounced. This is not exhaustive, but rather just suggestive of the virtues, what kind of person this is. 1) Hard Work First of all, we notice that she's a hard worker, very hard worker. Now look at verse 27, it says, "She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness," or the "twinkies of idleness", if you will, something like that. Whatever would cause a sense of idleness and pleasure seeking, this woman is not involved in that. And please don't come and tell me I like Twinkies. I know that you probably like Twinkies, that's not what I'm saying, that's not her home base, she's a hard worker. Now look what it says in verse 17, "She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her task." And so she's a hard worker. 2) Cheerfulness Secondly, we notice her cheerfulness. In verse 13, in the New American Standard, it gives us this, "She looks for wool and flax and works with her hands in delight." The Hebrew word here is really rich, it's a rich word, a sense of the delight that she has in the work that she does. She's not grumpy or irritable, and why should she be when she's taken her God-given gifts and talents and skills and making them available to enrich those that she loves and to advance the kingdom of her Savior? So there's no grumpiness or irritability here, she is delighted to do what she's doing. 3) Self-Sacrifice Thirdly, we see self-sacrifice and discipline. She's not living for immediate pleasure. Now verse 15 says “She gets up while it's still dark”; verse 18 says “…her lamp doesn't go out at night.” Now you may be wondering, when does she ever sleep? Well, it does say she gets up so imply she does get some rest, but look at this, this is a long, long time to be awake, and this is before electricity. I went on a mission trip to Kenya, and when the sun went down, we were all in bed within an hour because it costs money to keep the lamp going, but this woman is a hard worker; she's got a full day. So 15 through 18 may bracket a very busy day for her. She's a hard worker and she's disciplined. Now, she's living for others, she's living for her Lord, for her husband, for her children, for the workers in her home, and even for the poor and needy in the society around her. She's others centered. 4) Foresight She has foresight; she looks ahead at what's coming. Look at verse 21, it says, "When it snows, she has no fear for her household for all of them are clothed in scarlet." Now, snow is obviously very rare in Palestine, it's not likely to come. I looked it up and there's only 21 uses of the word snow in the Old Testament, and most of them are metaphorical, like our sins will be washed white as snow, this kind of thing. It was not a common experience, yet this woman has had the foresight to get ready for a snowy day. She's ready when it comes because she has foresight. Look again at verse 25, it says there, "She is clothed with strength and dignity, she can laugh at the days to come." It's so easy, isn't it, to slide into anxiety, all of us, not just women, but men as well, to be anxious about tomorrow. But she's not anxious, because first and foremost, she fears the Lord and trusts in him. But secondly, she's done what she can under God's leadership to provide and get ready for the future. So these are some of her character aspects. Her Works: Fruitful, Skillful, and Plentiful Her Works Inside the Home Fifthly, we notice her works. Her works are fruitful, they are skillful and plentiful, both inside the home and outside the home. Within the home, she is blessing her husband with every good thing that he might need for his life and ministry. Also, she's providing him and her children and even the poor with food and clothing. She's skillful in this way. We were talking just as we were waiting to come in here about the making of garments, and perhaps you've been to some of these pioneer sites where it shows how they would spin from flax or other things and make thread, and then thread would eventually be woven into cloth, and then sown into garments. This woman had the whole thing from alpha to omega, from A to Z. She knew how to make clothes, a skillful woman. She also spoke wisdom to her children, and we'll talk about this, we're gonna finish with it, talk about it in a moment. And she manages the affairs of her household, there's the gift of administration, she looks after details of her household, her husband, her children, servants, all of them needing direction. So that's inside the home. Her Works Outside of the Home What about outside the home? Well, she buys well. She's a good shopper, she knows, she looks with discernment at what's the best thing to buy? Look at verses 13-16, and it says, “She seeks wool and flax and works with willing hands,” as we said; verse 14, “She's like the ships of the merchant bringing her food from afar”; verse 16, “She considers a field and buys it, with the fruit of her hand she plants a vineyard.” She's a choosy and discerning shopper. There's a certain education in knowing what is the best to buy in each situation, and she knows how to buy it, whether it's a vegetable fiber like flax, or an animal fiber like wool, she knows what the best quality is to make the best quality garment. And so it is with a meal, the best ingredients go into making the best meal. Papa John tells us that. If you're gonna have the best pizza, you're gonna have the best ingredients, right? So this woman knew that long before Papa John. She says she's going to go like a merchant ship from afar to get the best ingredients for the meal. She understands that big things come out of little things, and little things matter, and she chooses with quality. She also invests and sells widely. “She considers a field…”, and the Greek or the Hebrew gives us the indication of a careful process of discerning which is the best field to buy, and also it's gonna take some finagling even to get it purchased. But then it turns out well. With the fruit she gets from that field, she then considers a vineyard and buys that. So she's in an ongoing sense, investing. She's a very wise and careful businesswoman. We also see her mercy to the poor in verse 20, “She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy, these are her works.” Her Relationships: A God-Centered Family With Her God: The Fear of the Lord Foundational Next, we see her relationships, and the center of it all is her relationship with God. The relationships are well-ordered because they are God-centered. The fear of the Lord is foundational to this woman's personality, it's the center of everything she is and does. Now, this is really the center and the beginning, middle and end of the whole Book of Proverbs, isn't it? In Proverbs 1:7, it says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." That's the beginning, verse 7 of Proverbs 1. But here at the very end, in verse 30, it's, "Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." And right in the middle, just about the middle verse in Proverbs, 15:33 gives us this, "The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor." The message of the Book of Proverbs is a wise and discerning life begins and is, in the middle, and in the final analysis, all about the fear of the Lord. It's all about God-centeredness in your life. AW Tozer wrote a classic called, The Knowledge of the Holy, one of the greatest devotional writings ever written, and he got it right from Proverbs 9:10, it says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the holy is understanding." So the sum total of this woman's character is that she fears the Lord, she knows and understands the Lord, and everything she does flows from that. Now, this friends, is true beauty. This true beauty, 1 Peter 3 tells us that beauty doesn't “…come from outward adornment such as braided hair, or the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Instead, it's that of the inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.” Unfading beauty. This woman can be beautiful at age 95 because she fears the Lord. True beauty. Now, it says in verse 30, "Charm is deceptive and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Women spend literally billions of dollars every year on cosmetics. More and more investing even in cosmetic surgery, so I guess we have to re-understand verse 30, it's not just charm that's deceptive, but beauty can be deceptive as well. It's not what you appear to be. And what a sad commentary on a society, that this is all we think of when we think of female beauty; it's all external, it's about as thin as the cover of a magazine. And yet it's everywhere, isn't it? An intense interest in external very, very temporary feminine beauty. The Bible has a different view of what's beautiful, and it has to do with the fear of the Lord, it has to do with true, genuine godliness. And so we see her relationship is first and foremost with the Lord. With Her Husband: Godly Marriage Secondly, we see her relationship with her husband in her godly marriage. Look at verse 11, it says, "The heart of her husband trusts in her and he will have no lack of gain." Now, it's amazing, this word "trust" is in every other place that I could find in the Old Testament used only for God, that we are to be trusting in God and in God alone, and so it is true. But in a similar way that the husband, a godly husband will trust in the Lord for his salvation, at a lower level he's trusting in his wife for many things to do with his practical life, He trusts her, she's trustworthy, she's faithful. We also see that she provides for husband, she meets his needs. It says he will have no lack of gain in verse 11, anything that he needs to be fully successful in his life and ministry, she has thought of, and she has provided. Another interpretation from the Hebrew word I think is very powerful, it literally says he has no need of spoil, he doesn't need any plunder. And what this plunder is, is taking something that belongs to somebody else, and this man is essentially discontent 'cause he's gotta go plunder somebody else. But this godly man who's married to this woman, he has no need of plunder, he has no need of spoil, he's content with what God has provided because she meets his needs in a wonderful way. It says in Proverbs 5, "Why be intoxicated by another man's wife? Drink water from your own cistern and running water from your own well." In verse 18 of chapter 5, "May your fountain be blessed and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth." He doesn't need to roam or wander because she meets his needs in every way, he has no need to plunder or spoil. And we see also their lasting relationship. Look at verse 12, "She does him good and not harm all the days of her life." Till death parts them, she is committed to this one man, and I've seen some godly women in this church that nurse their husbands right through to the day of their death at great sacrifice and done it cheerfully. There's a lasting relationship. And then, in terms of her marriage, we see also finally her husband's place in society. Proverbs 31 seems to draw a direct connection between the quality of this man's wife and the esteem with which he's held in society. Because he's got such a godly wife, he is freed up and empowered and able to go be everything God wants him to be as well. So look down at verse 23, it says, "Her husband is respected at the city gate where he takes a seat among the elders of the land." Now, first, let's understand what kind of man is this kind of woman going to choose for a husband, right? She's not gonna be just very, very careful about wool and flax and marry just any guy. She's gonna marry a godly man who's worthy of her respect. And so for you, young men as you're growing up, you ought to think about that. If this is the kind of woman you want, if this kind of wife you want, then you need to be a certain kind of man. So she, I'm certain, is very careful about what kind of man she chose to marry, but then she does everything she can to make him be everything he can be, and he is respected at the city gate where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. A godly man, fully successful, who has a great impact for eternity, he doesn't do it alone. But God has brought a helper suitable for him, and she deserves as much reward and praise as he does for whatever he accomplishes. And so we see her godly relationship with her husband. With Her Children: Godly Training We also see finally her godly relationship with her children, and I'm gonna take this whole section and bring it to the very end of the sermon. She invests herself in preparing her children for eternity, and we'll talk about that at the end of the message. Her Reward: Both Temporal & Eternal Praise from Her Husband AND Praise from Her Children Seventh, we see her reward, both temporal and eternal. First, we see her temporary or temporal reward from her husband and from her children. Now, when I say it's temporal, it doesn't mean it's not important. It is important for her husband and her children to praise her. Pause the sermon for a minute. Men, this is Mother's Day. Okay? You know what to do. End of pause. Back to the sermon. Okay? It's very important for men to take the time creatively and intelligently to praise their wives, the mother of their children, and to praise their own mothers as well. And so we see her praised, and also praised from her children. Verse 28 and 29, "Her children arise and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praises her. Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." Oh, she'll love to hear that, if she thinks you really think it. And so you have to kinda earn the right so that it's not a matter of flattery, but throughout the year, not just on Mother's Day, but 364 other days a year, earn the right to say it so she'll believe it on Mother's Day that that's what you really think. Praise from Her Neighbors and the Elders in the Land We also see praise from her neighbors and elders in the land. Verse 31, "Give her the reward she has earned and let her works bring her praise at the city gate." And so she gets esteem from society, from the culture, from the church, let's say, from people who see the value of what she does. Praise from God, the Ultimate Reward But does she care ultimately about these things? No, no, not ultimately. Ultimately, it means the highest place. What does she really want? What is her true reward? Is it not praise from God? Isn't that what she wants? It's that God would see, that God would know, that God would praise her. Now, do not think it immoral or wrong or sinful for a woman or a man to desire to be praised by God. It is the reward we will get at the end of a faithful life, where the Lord will say to us, "Well done, you good and faithful servant. You've been faithful with a few things, I'm gonna put you in charge of many things. Enter now into the joy of your Master." Is that not your yearning? Isn't that the reward you're hoping to store up day after day by faithful service, that God would see what you do and praise you for it? Well, that's the reward she's gonna get. Now look at verse 30, it says, "A woman who fears the Lord will be praised." There's a future tense. There's a yet future praise she is living for, that's what she wants. Now, one of the discoveries I made as I was preparing this sermon was the connection between Proverbs 31 and Matthew chapter 10. It's a connection I'd never really seen before, but it clicked in for me this week. Now you might think, what does Matthew 10 have to do with Proverbs 31? Well, in Matthew 10, Jesus is sending his apostles out two by two to go out and witness, to share the gospel, to advance the kingdom. It's a very important part of Matthew. He's entrusting them at an early stage, the ministry of reconciliation, they're going to go out. And this is the instruction he gives. In Matthew 10:11 he says, "Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave." In other words, get a base of operation and don't move from it. Just stay there and let them feed you, let them care for you, let them renew you in the evenings, let them pray for you, and then you go out and you minister. You say, "Okay, well, if I'm gonna host the apostle, what do I get?" you may ask. Well, at the end, he deals with that. In Matthew 10:40-42, he says, "He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward. And anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will never lose his reward." A cup of cold water, and you won't lose your reward? What does a godly wife do, but provide decades of a base of operation for her husband to go out and do his life and ministry? She will never lose her reward. And as a matter of fact, according to the logic of Matthew 10, she gets the exact same reward he does. Whatever he's out doing, if she's the base of operation for him and he comes back and gets renewed and goes back out, she gets the same reward he does. Now that is rich, isn't it? That's the reward that she's hoping for, that's what she's yearning for. One commentator put it this way, “This godly capable woman is fully using all her capacities, intellectual, physical, spiritual, emotional, moral, to produce a well-ordered godly home which is a haven of rest and spiritual refreshment for her husband, herself, and her children. That home is a launching pad for world changers, and an oasis of spiritual sanity in the midst of an insane, rebellious, wicked world. She is a co-laborer with her husband, and what she is doing is every bit as difficult and every bit as eternally fruitful as what he is doing. They have a mutual call, but different focuses. And God will reward them equally based on their faithfulness to their challenging tasks. AND WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT? WHY IS THAT NOT SUFFICIENT? Equally challenging work, equally fruitful in this world, equally essential to God’s Kingdom, equally rewarded by God on judgment day. How can a godly home-maker be so thoroughly disrespected in this world, except that Satan is trying to destroy that oasis of refreshment, that launching pad of kingdom building world-changers? Now we see his evil design at last! The force that leads men and women alike to disparage the godly homemaker has its origin in the mind of the Devil himself…. Because he deeply fears this godly Proverbs 31 woman and the peaceful and orderly home she so powerfully carves out of his world of wicked chaos.” Her Proclamation of Wisdom: Scripture’s Witness to Christ No Woman in History Has Perfectly Embodied Wisdom Finally her proclamation of wisdom, Scripture's witness to Christ. Now, no woman in history has fully lived this out. None. It's a goal, and the more godly you are, the more you know your own deficiencies, isn't it true? The more you go on in the Christian life, the more humbled you are by your own sin and the more of it you see, and that's a good thing. Even the apostle Paul called himself “the greatest of all sinners,” 1st Timothy 1:15, he knew himself to be the greatest of all sinners. So when you read this and it makes you feel guilty or whatever, push it aside. Instead, read and say, "What can I be today by God's grace?" And strive to live as best you can according to this pattern. Christ Has Perfectly Embodied Wisdom & He is Our Wisdom and Righteousness But I say to you, a Christian isn't looking to herself or himself anyway for the ultimate answers of righteousness. There is a man who has perfectly lived out the wisdom of the Book of Proverbs. There is a man who is the Book of Proverbs embodied, walking wisdom. He dealt with everybody perfectly, he dealt with every situation perfectly, he always spoke perfect wisdom, he dealt with his money perfectly, he dealt with temptations perfectly, he dealt with his family perfectly, he was the Book of Proverbs embodied. He was Jesus Christ. And Christ, and Christ alone, is perfect wisdom. And in his wisdom, he would rather die on the cross than disobey the law of God, and in his wisdom, he loved us so much, he would rather die than have us lost to hell. That is the wisdom and the love of Christ, and we see it perfectly in the cross. Christ is wisdom embodied, not the godly homemaker, however, godly she is. This Godly Woman Ultimately Proclaims Christ Alone And you know what? She knows it, doesn't she? She knows ultimately she cannot be the savior to her children, only Christ can. Well, what is she gonna do about it? Well, this godly woman proclaims Christ to her children everyday of their lives. She is getting them ready, their souls ready for eternity, she's getting them ready to meet God face to face. And her example of godliness is insufficient to do that, she knows it. So therefore all she can do is proclaim Christ from Scripture to them from infancy. God's word is a perfect combination of everything we need to bring us to salvation. Isn't that wonderful? Everything we need for life, eternal life, and godliness is found in the Scripture. A godly wife knows that, a godly mother knows that, and she knows there's a combination of law and grace, that working together saves souls. The tremblings of the law and the sweetness of grace, and the two of them combined in a perfectly wise way to get us ready for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. And so we see Eunice doing this for Timothy. In 2nd Timothy 1 we see that her faith lives in Timothy, but then in 2 Timothy 3, it says, "Continue in what you have learned and become convinced because you know those from whom you learned it," especially your mother, "and how from infancy, you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." The wisdom for salvation comes from the Scripture, and it comes from law, and it comes from gospel or grace. How the Proverbs 31 Woman Preaches the Whole Counsel of God’s Word Now, you might say, where do we get this in Proverbs 31? Well, I hadn't seen it until four days ago. Look at verse 26. Now, in the King James Version, it's the only translation that I find that does the two key words here justice, literally says, "She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness." Now, the word law is "Torah", and the word kindness is "hesed". These are two of the weightiest words in the Old Testament. She speaks law and she speaks grace. That's what she speaks to her children, she speaks the whole counsel of God's word. Speaking Law How does she speak law? Well, she proclaims the fiery tremblings of Mount Sinai to her children. She tells them that God is the only God and we shall have no other gods before him, and that God will condemn any that rebel against him. The threatenings of law and of death for all that transgressed the law. It says, "Honor your father and mother." She upholds this, and she disciplines when they sass and are dishonorable to her, or to their father. It says, "You shall not steal." She upholds this and she disciplines if they steal or if they lie, or if they disrespect, or if they covet. She's upholding the law. The greatest law is love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. She's taking the law and lying it next to their hearts and saying, "Are you loving God right now? Are you honoring God right now?" And in this way, she brings them to a thorough knowledge of their own sinfulness, that's the law. Speaking Grace (Hesed) But then we need hesed, we need the grace. Now, this is a rich word, hesed. Up on Mount Sinai, the Lord was interacting with Moses, and Moses said, "Show me your glory. I wanna see your glory." And he said, No one can see me and live. But what I'll do is I'll put you in a cleft of the rock, and I'll go by and you'll see my last portions, and I will speak my name to you. And this is what it says, "Then the Lord passed by in front of Moses and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in hesed, abounding in loving kindness and truth.'" That's who he is. Or in Psalm 23:6, Surely goodness and hesed, mercy, will follow me all the days of my life. Or in Psalm 51, after David committed adultery with Bathsheba, he said this, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your hesed, according to your unfailing love, according to your great compassion, blot out my transgression." In other words, my only hope for my transgression and my sin is the hesed of God, the grace of God. It's the only hope I have, God's loving kindness to sinners. Speaking Wisdom And so a godly mother speaks wisdom. She speaks law, and she speaks grace, and she points to Christ who is the perfect fulfillment of both. She leads her children to Christ everyday, she acts. It says in Galatians 3:24, "The law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ so that we may be justified by faith." She takes the law and uses it as a tutor to bring those little kids to the cross. She evangelizes them with the law. She also evangelizes them with sweet, loving kindness. How can they understand what God's loving kindness is like, other than they see it in life? And from the moment they are nursing at their mother's breast to the time when she binds up their wounds and wipes their tears, to the time when she cleans up their foul messes in the middle of the night, she is displaying God's loving kindness in action. They are learning what it's like that God is a God of loving kindness, that he covers over grace. How many times do the children come and have to apologize to their mothers for sin? And she grants them lovingly, graciously, forgiveness. She's gentle with them and she shows them the love and the mercy of God. Jeremiah 31:3 says, "The Lord appeared to us in the past saying, I have loved you with an everlasting love." Listen, I have drawn you with hesed. I've drawn you with loving kindness. God's love, his kindness, attracts us. We don't go into the arms of God running screaming from hell, that's not what does it in the end. It's the tender mercies of God displayed in Christ, but pictured at a lower level by the evangelist who is their mother. And so she, by every act of loving kindness, is putting a band around their heart and drawing them to Christ, pulling them to Christ, that's what she's doing. It says in Romans 2:4, God's kindness leads you toward repentance. In Matthew 4, Jesus said, "Follow me and I'll make you fishers of men." She is a fisher of their heart, pulling them in with a net to believe and love Christ. More than anything, she teaches them that God's grace is infinitely greater than all their sin. Romans 5:20 says, "The law was added so that the trespass might increase, but where sin increased, grace increased all the more." Torah, law, uncovers sin before their eyes. Grace covers it up with the mercy of God. You need to picture grace to your children. Everyone's sin is like a fire. Some is like a match. Some like a candle. Some like a torch. Some like a bonfire. The grace of God in Christ is like the Pacific Ocean that can handle the match, the candle, the torch or the bonfire with equal ease. The grace of God is greater than all of our sin, and a godly mother proclaims both law and the loving kindness of God. His grace is sufficient to cover our sin, and so she's proclaiming Christ day after day by how she lives, but especially by the way she reads Scripture to them, the law of loving kindness. Summary & Conclusion Overview Now, we have seen today a godly woman, we've seen her description, she's a wife of courageous valor. We've seen her value, it's greater than rubies. We have seen her focus, it's a godly home. We've seen her character, comprehensive wisdom. We've seen her works, they are fruitful, skillful and plentiful. We've seen her relationships, it's a God-centered family. We've seen her reward, both temporal and eternal, it's praise. And we have seen her proclamation of wisdom, which is Scripture's witness to Christ. Applications Now, by way of application, let me speak to different categories of people briefly. To young, unmarried women, set Proverbs 31 in front of you as a matter of prayer so that you would be transformed and become this kind of person before you get married. Set this as a goal for yourself and find a mentor who can help you become this kind of woman. To young, unmarried men, I already spoke to you earlier in the message, but be the kind of man who this kind of woman will wanna marry. And by the way, you wanna know what kind of man that is? Look at Job 31. Men, you wanna be under the pile? Read Job 31. Women, Proverbs 31. Okay? There's a parallelism there. But be that kind of a godly man who this kind of woman will want to marry, and then don't choose any less than this, don't settle for less. That's what Lemuel's mother was saying. To married men, I urge you to find something in this proverb that you can use to encourage your wife or your mother. To married women, resist the temptation to feel under the pile by this or any passage of Scripture. Don't feel guilty, feel renewed and strengthened and empowered by God to perform this very thing, because the New Covenant says that God writes his laws in our minds and on our hearts and then empowers us to fulfill them. To all children of mothers, to all those of you that have had a mother, who would that be? Well, that's all of us, I guess, except Adam and Eve. All of us have a mother. First of all, be thankful and grateful to God for any way that your mother fulfilled this, even if she wasn't a Christian. If she's still living, encourage her today that her labor was not in vain, speak words of encouragement to her. And to all of us realize, it doesn't matter how godly your mother was or is, it doesn't matter how godly you feel you are, our only hope of righteousness is Jesus Christ who fulfilled it all at the cross. Close with me in prayer.