Tea party in the house of magic

And then we had tea and cupcakes. Susan hosted a tea party for me as a birthday present. It was lovely and always fun to be in Susan's magical house surrounded by her fabulous art work. And Sarah Palin wasn't even invited, thank God. Flowers and hats were the order of the day along with giggles and laughter.
And the fun continued as Barbara, Ann and I went on to Archway Gallery for its monthly reading. Barbara read two of her wonderful poems and I read from a previous blog about trying to be the Super Wife and host office parties. I hadn't planned to read it but was glad I had it with me as a young woman read a very dark poem about mid 20th century housewives that described them very differently from my experience or of those I knew. Shit, I was one of those wives and don't remember seducing anyone from a convertible...what did I miss?
But I do remember being in on the beginning of the feminist movement and discussing Betty Friedan and The Feminine Mystique over the bridge table with the Rice University Graduate Wives Club. Yeah, I even played bridge, sort of. And was it Phyliss Schaffley who fought it all so valiantly? Who was it that told us to meet our husbands at the door wrapped only in Saran wrap? I do admit to being sold the idea of Super Wife/Mom by the Ladies Home Journal and wanting polished floors and scrubbed children but at some point it grew tiresome, really tiresome and boring and I began to step out of the box. And guess what...nobody died, the children grew up and I'm still married to the same guy. And my life has been and still is far from boring.
So now it is fun to play dress up, wear a hat, eat cupcakes and drink tea like the ladies our mothers probably hoped we would be if only for an afternoon.