My Pitiful June Rating

It's been a while since I touched on the inspiration for my blog name, and today I stumbled across an old blog post at the Babs Blog (which turned out to be a very cool blog that I had to follow) titled "Why We Love June Cleaver". So I thought...hmm, why do I love June Cleaver? She's an impossible ideal in mommy-dom, and makes my futile attempts at homemaking look pretty pathetic in comparison. Here's what TBB had to say:

"She kept an immaculate house, baked the best cookies, always had dinner on the table, was quick with a hug for her boys, always treated her hubby Ward with respect, was dedicated to her church, helped her neighbors out...and she did it in pearls and heels! My, that June...she sure was something! (We think that June Cleaver could definitely teach "modern" women a thing or two...)"

Okay, so how do I stack up?

• Immaculate house - FAIL. There was already 20+ of family dirt in this house by the time we moved in. The fireplace is perched on top of a giant rock, there are rough wood beams every fifteen feet or so, and logs line the ceiling. There is no making this house immaculate. Even if it was a possibility, I would still fail, because a) I hate folding laundry, and b) we just have way too much junk.
• Bakes the best cookies - FAIL. Well, I'm okay with Pillsbury Break & Bake. My homemade cookies tend to taste okay, but look like a gloppy, bubbly mess. Except for sugar cookies, at which I just fail on all counts.
  
• Always has dinner on the table - FAIL. Well, there's nearly always food forthcoming, but it's rarely on the table when the hubby actually gets home from work. About half of the time, it's either still cooking, or I've just been entirely unable to force myself into the kitchen to cook.
• Quick with hugs - YES! I can claim this one! My girls are very, very hugged. They're both big huggers, and we always have time for more. Score!
• Always treats hubby with respect - FAIL. I know. I know.
• Dedicated to her church - well. I won't say "fail", as I generally do what's asked of me, or step in when I see that something needs to be done. There's room for improvement. There are also issues that I'll save for another time. I'll give myself about a HALF on this one.
• Helps neighbors out - I try! If a friend asks me for help, I'm there. It's not that often that they ask, though. In a way, I wish some would ask more - it's nice to feel helpful and needed. :) On the other hand, I'm very much a homebody and prefer to expend most of my energy on my own home and kids, but I do think that's pretty normal. Our actual neighbors (as in, adjacent and nearby housese) are pretty stand-offish, with the exception of the nice old couple just next door - and we do like to stop by to say hello or drop off a surprise plate of cookies now and then. So okay, I'll claim this one too.
• Pearls and heels - FAIL. I can't even tell you the last time I wore heels. Okay, it was probably last winter, to church, before warmer weather led me to ditch them in favor of flip flops, sandals and slides. I can't wear much of a heel anyway, since they make me taller than Gene and gives him a bit of a complex. I'm pretty sure I wore pearls on my wedding day. Hmm, maybe time to look into something a little more updated...they are my birthstone (stone? pearls aren't stones!) after all.

Okay, to recap...out of eight June-ish qualities, I fail miserably at five at them and halfway at another. So I have a 2.5 out of 8 June rating. OUCH!

So, which one to work on first? :p