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Deep Thoughts on the Cashmere Mafia

By Anonymous

After watching Desperate Housewives, a Sunday night dinner tradition we greatly missed over the holidays (not that JP would admit it), I kept the TV on for the premiere of Cashmere Mafia while straightening up the apartment. The show is about four MBA-holding, corner office sitting, unrealistically thin and beautiful, best friends- all with different hair colors, of course. It was way too reminiscent of Sex and the City in parts and completely vapid in others, but every now and then there was something that rang true. One such scene involved Zoe, managing director at an investment firm and mother of two, scrambling to find a replacement nanny. I immediately told JP, "See! That's why working women have it so much harder than men- things like that always fall on us. You'd never see a male executive making frantic phone calls and rearranging his schedule to interview nannies." To which JP replied, "Are you kidding? You'd never let me make that decision." As I opened my mouth to respond that I would love to not have tasks like that fall on my plate, I realized I'd be lying. If I delegated that decision to JP, I'd be calling constantly to see where he was in the process, asking for copies of the girls' resumes, and making him tape the interviews so I could watch them later. It would not result in less work for me and it would drive him crazy.

And I think that's true for a lot of the things I complain about having to do- even if JP volunteers to do something (as he often does), I turn him down because I don't want to relinquish control over an important decision. Childcare isn't the perfect example because both parents should be involved in that process, but things like doctor appointments, researching vacations, organizing our finances, and looking for houses are all things I could, and should, let go of a little- or at least stop complaining about. I think delegation will be my biggest challenge in the working world- I work quickly and neatly and I hate watching someone else do something I know I could do faster and better. But I know I can't do everything myself and I need to learn to let go of the small stuff.

The other scene that made me point/yell at JP is when two of the women's husbands are counseling a third's fiance on being married to a high-powered wife. Their biggest piece of advice:

Husbands: "Never use the R-word, it's like the C-word."
Fiance: "What's the R-word?"
Husbands: "Relax."

SO true. There is nothing that gets me worked up faster than JP telling me to relax. He found it hilarious that other women apparently do the same thing.

I'll probably watch the next episode if Landon lets me. It's mindless, but so is most television. I enjoyed the fact that the writers didn't make the women total disasters in their personal lives. Too many stories do that and it irritates the hell out of me- no woman who manages to rise to the top of any corporation can be as klutzy, forgetful, and generally unlucky as most of the chick-lit heroines out there. Competent female characters, even those with too-perfect figures and hair, are a welcome addition to my personal TV lineup.

Full post as published by Lag Liv on January 07, 2008 (boomark / email).