Tribal Wife

This is NOT a "tribal wife". This is Donna Reed, the ultimate wife. Before you tell me I am too young to know anything about this, please know that I was a very strange child and loved "Nick at Night", so I watched a lot of retro TV. Anyway, I loved The Donna Reed show. I also loved The Dick Van Dike show, and Welcome Back Kotter, but those are for another post. So anyway, when I imagined a "housewife" as kid, this is what I had in mind. Donna Reed. She was perfect. Perfect hair. Clothes. Kids. Dinner. House. Everything was perfect. Now I know better. I mean, what did she do with those kids while cooking that perfect meal that must have taken hours? She had to have put them in a play pen. A real play pen. You know, the big square kind that no one sells anymore. Not the tiny pack-n-play that will make the most neglectful mother feel guilty about leaving a baby in to play for any length of time. Those old play pens were enormous! I think a toddler could sit on one end and not see the other side! Ok, well, maybe they weren't that big, but close. Wait, did they have those in the 50s? I know I never actually saw one on the Donna Reed show, but I just assume that is what the 50s wife did. If it isn't, then don't tell me. I don't want to feel anymore inadequate than I already do. Anyway, back to the tribal wife, which is what I am going to be soon. What is a tribal wife? Technically, this is a tribal wife...But, of course, I won't exactly look like that. I will be a tribal missionary's wife. Which is a whole other story. Someone who fits in a lot better with picture number 2 than with Donna Reed. In all honesty, I am not totally sure what it will look like, but I know that in less than a year. I will be a wife, and mother to 3 little girls in a remote location in Papua New Guinea. It will be exciting, weird, and probably a little scary. There is apparently some sort of "look" or "image" of a tribal wife. When we first started missionary training, my husband asked my neighbor if she and her husband were going to a tribe. She answered, "Do I look like a tribal wife to you?" Not really knowing a lot about what a "tribal wife" is supposed to look like, I had no idea how to answer, then I worried to myself, "Do I look like a tribal wife? Am, I supposed to look like a tribal wife? What the heck does a tribal wife look like, anyway?" I spent the next few semesters of training getting a better picture, but to be totally honest, I still don't really know for sure, so I decided to keep this blog as I try to figure it out. I know that it means dealing with bugs, lizards, snakes, malaria, and the heat, oh for the love of all that is good and decent, the heat! I love air conditioning and I am not afraid to admit it! Wait...maybe I shouldn't admit that. A tribal wife probably isn't supposed to love air conditioning. Oops! I guess I am not off to a very good start!