Story of a Life

In yesterday's Globe there was an article about the fall TV lineup and how it featured a number of new shows about women in their late 30s to early 40s. The article seemed to view this as progress but it also seemed to say the women would all be single, childless, and upwardly mobile. Great. It's Sex and the City with hot flashes.
Where's the sitcom that represents my life? The one about the mom with kids who can barely get her act together to work part time, hasn't been out shopping for a new item of clothing for herself in over a year, still gets acne, and isn't sleeping with the gardener.
I remember getting together to watch Thirtysomething in the dorm lounge back in college when we weren't even remotely close to being thirty. Those couples all seemed to have kids and jobs and still be interesting enough to be shown on television. In fact maybe I should check the library for Thirtysomething on DVD just to see how their reality stacks up to mine. I seem to recall the characters all being a little neurotic - guess back then I thought being neurotic was something we'd all outgrow and not come to embrace.
Who's to say my life's not interesting enough for television? Take yesterday afternoon for example. After the dead snake incident my parents came over for dinner which I was mid-way through cooking when the power went out. I had to take my half-baked chicken and traipse next door to my neighbor's house. My neighbor who has a gas stove that is. I had my son bringing up the rear, carrying the vegetables in their respective pans, but he froze on the front steps because he's afraid of Betsy's little dogs.
It worked out okay, all things considered, and the lights came back on just as we were about to light the candles on the cake. Did I mention it was my mother's 74th birthday? Earlier in the day I'd bought those candles in the shape of numbers, a number seven, and a number four. They're a buck-fifty each but I sprung for them because we can use them again in July when Ken turns 47.
You tell me that's not a plot worthy of television? I got a million of them.
Come to think of it, since Ken mowed the lawn yesterday, I guess I am sleeping with the gardener.

song: Story of a Life • artist: Harry Chapin