So there I was, giving Lucy, my Old English Sheepdog, a bath before her big party. I had my hair in rollers, also in anticipation of Lucy’s party. This was during the time when my girls were young and in school, and most of the women who lived on my cul-de-sac were like me - - no job outside the home and no kids at home during the day. We were sort of like the Desperate Housewives who lived on Wisteria Lane only I don’t think we were quite as desperate as they were. . . but then I’m speaking only for myself.

Our neighborhood had many parties, some of which included husbands - - 4th of July, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Groundhog’s Day and so on. But we women had our own little get-togethers in the afternoons where we would drink wine and gossip. There were so many things to gossip about such as when Cathy found out she was pregnant and was furious, or when Susie found out she was pregnant and was delighted, or when Susie found out it wasn’t her husband who had made her pregnant but the one time she had slipped up with her husband’s brother when he visited from Oklahoma, or when Sally was caught shoplifting a porn movie in the local video store. As you can see, there was a never-ending supply of gossip material to keep our little parties going forever. And if we had a slack time, I could always give Lucy another bath and make her all pretty. That would be a good reason to raise another glass of wine!

This all ended for me when I got a job, a divorce and moved into an apartment. I still miss our Wisteria Lane – I mean our cul-de-sac – and doubt I will ever experience a time like that again.