House, MD: The 24 Hour Woman

SUBTITLE: Men Are Cads (On House Anyway)

Did anyone else really like last night’s episode of House, MD, “5 to 9“?  It was, to borrow “Lost” parlance, a Cuddy-centric episode, a day in the life of Hospital Executive and working mom, Dr. Lisa Cuddy.

It was just the antidote to the terribly misogynistic Superbowl…

I kept watching it thinking, oh my God, every day of my life is like this!

Well, ok, not exactly.  Like the bedroom bet between House and Lucas (seriously, is this the best guy Cuddy can date? Really fits the definition of “cad”.)  The kids are different, the work is different, the man is different, but in many ways it’s the same, and not just for working moms, but for professional women everywhere.  Damned if you do, damned if you don’t, at every turn. Pressure to be “on” for far 16 hours a day (or more).  Called a bitch when you assert your authority, mocked when you don’t. Etc, etc…

On the other hand, while my professional life is not yet where I want it to be, and my kids still require quite a lot of assistance behaviorally, I’m lucky compared to Cuddy.  My husband is not a cad, or at least, he would never EVER make a bet based on our love life.  I make sure that I find time for myself, everyday, even if it is just a slightly extended shower or snoozing the alarm for 5 minutes.  I have a ton of friends I can consult with complex issues – some professional, some more on family and relationships, others on writing, and still others on faith, love, charity.  Even though they are mostly virtual relationships, they are strong and I don’t often feel as alone as Cuddy seemed to be in this episode.

I bet men got tired watching, I was too familiar with the exhaustion routine to really get affected.
Still, the episode was good and made its point (plus, I’m getting sick of House.  His character makes great strides and then reverts to… well, caddishness. )
Which is:

It’s really really really hard to be a woman (and successful and a mom) in the 21st Century.  I’m reading This Is Not How I Thought It Would Be: Remodeling Motherhood to Get the Lives We Want Today by Kristin Maschka, who explains in great details exactly how and why we got to this point as women, and why we never feel like it’s enough.  It’s really kind of funny (and sad) that in order to get a show to air an episode such as this, we had to get to the point where, through economic tribulation, women are now half or more of the workforce.  (Is that because we still get paid less, or because we have more of the must-do jobs, while men get the ‘cut em’ management jobs? hmmmm…)

So to all you women out there, no matter where you are or what you are doing, take it easy on yourself.  There is the possibility no one else will.

Well, it’s almost 9pm, which means time to get Lost on a island full of men who are definitely not cads…