So Jane Wyatt of "Father Knows Best" fame has died at 96 and another star in old Hollywood's firmament of mythical mothers is extinguished. She was pleasant, dutiful, concerned and...a total fabrication. Sure, the endless round of mind-numbingly boring household tasks--performed like her sister-in-arms, Barbara Billingsly's June Cleaver, in a dress and high-heeled pumps--were all too real. So were the societal expectations that required these working actresses to depict women who willingly shelved any hope of personal accomplishment in favor of preparing three squares a day and keeping the King's castle spotless. Heavy was the axe of judgement that fell if either Margaret Anderson or June Cleaver were spotted having to wade through a river of dirty landry to answer the front door, for the sum total of their worth could be determined by how successfully they cleaned up after their thoughtless and slovenly families. Awesome!
In honor of mythical moms everywhere I've decided to establish the first-annual "Show Me Your Front Door" day. Since the front door is the first thing people see when they come to call, I've decided to show you what mine looks like...as well as what's behind it. You can put yours on your own blog, or send it to me in an e-mail and I'll print it here. Get those cameras ready!
Yes...those are rocks on the porch. Fossils, actually. The big one in the chair just under the mail slot is an enormous ammonite.
Hmmm. Not the clearest photo I've ever taken. That's my grandmother's old telephone table there and her rotary-dial phone is on the little shelf. It's hard to see, though.
Hey, that's a cool idea! I can show you my boring ol' front door, but living in an NYC apartment, if I open it, you pretty much see my entire place.
Posted by: Mom101 | October 24, 2006 at 10:43 AM
That IS a great idea--but right now, as my house is under construction you can't see much. And the apartment where we are living? Not very exciting.
Posted by: Amy | October 24, 2006 at 11:19 AM
Mine will be so embarassing. But I'll do it.
Posted by: toyfoto | October 24, 2006 at 11:23 AM
I love this stuff. All of us are voyeurs, no?
Posted by: jess | October 24, 2006 at 11:31 AM
OK "June"
How much time did you spend tidying up before these pictures? Do tell.....
>^..^<
Posted by: mb | October 24, 2006 at 11:32 AM
I'll take one at naptime and send it! Cool idea.
Posted by: lynsalyns | October 24, 2006 at 12:12 PM
Great idea. Love your door. It looks like the entrance to a cozy home.
Posted by: Mommy off the Record | October 24, 2006 at 01:53 PM
I like the way your real entry way matches your blog homepage. Such a warm welcome.
My friend Carla says the reason so many 1950s era homes have wet bars in the basement was because the moms needed it. This led me to consider that June Cleaver wasn't *really* vacuuming, she was just pushing the vacuum around to keep from falling over--it gave her a reason not to walk a straight line.
Posted by: V-Grrrl | October 24, 2006 at 01:57 PM
It looks so inviting! I've always wanted a front porch like that to put pumpkins on. My front door is so... boring. Fortunately it might not be MY front door much longer! :)
Posted by: Tink | October 24, 2006 at 01:59 PM
Oh your front porch looks wonderful - we just don't have those in England! I'll do mine but it's pretty grim really, just a path up to a door. I'll have to see if I'm home in daylight tonorrow as it's too dark now. Nice idea though. :)
Posted by: platypus | October 24, 2006 at 02:28 PM
My Dad has spent a life time trying to marry such a fabrication... poor guy.
Posted by: Oh, The Joys | October 24, 2006 at 06:08 PM
I love your porch and your entryway. So welcoming and warm, just like you are. :-)
My front door and entryway are pretty boring, but I'll try to do this one too.
Posted by: Nancy | October 24, 2006 at 07:09 PM
I played at my place ... great idea ...
Posted by: Nils | October 24, 2006 at 09:57 PM
Do you have any idea how much I love your house?
I want to come live with you.
Posted by: Jenny | October 25, 2006 at 05:33 AM
hmmm... we live in a little condo with kind of French windows covered by blinds on the inside. No pumpkin. Yet. But maybe I'll put up a view from the doorway, which would be marginally better!
Posted by: ortizzle | October 25, 2006 at 06:02 AM
Great idea. Our front door is really boring though. Maybe I should try and spice it up somehow.
Posted by: Chris | October 25, 2006 at 07:41 AM
I wish my front entrance were that clean - even for half a day! Sigh. Now that winter's upon us, the front entrance is forever littered with jackets and boots and mitts and... well, now I'm starting to depress myself.
Posted by: Heather | October 25, 2006 at 07:44 AM
We have the same paint color in our dining room. I'll have to find a pic of our front door for ya.
Posted by: HollowSquirrel | October 25, 2006 at 07:45 AM
No one uses my front door except for strangers, so I never answer the front door. I'll take pics of my mudroom door and maybe the popcorn and laundry baskets all over the den.
Posted by: kim | October 25, 2006 at 08:21 AM
This isn't my real house, so I can't show it to you. It's not good.
I love the yellow paint in the entryway!
Posted by: TB | October 25, 2006 at 09:05 AM
Love the phone stand, phone, color, and van gogh right there. Very nice. :)
Posted by: J | October 25, 2006 at 01:51 PM
Oh argh, I got a different camera and I don't have the right software to go with it, so I can't post anything!
Posted by: Gina | October 26, 2006 at 10:15 AM
So much character! Ours looks totally boring. But I'm compelled to have John take some pictures of it - great idea.
Posted by: Kristen | October 26, 2006 at 07:15 PM
All looks so cosy. Here's mine. Will seee if brave enough for internal shots later.
http://dodothatvoodoo.blogspot.com/2006/10/wordgirl-has-braved-all-to-show-us-her.html
Posted by: dodo | October 27, 2006 at 02:00 AM