Introduction to my battle with DRS

I was infected with DRS at an early age although the symptoms lay dormant for years. You see, I was a very sheltered child, so while my friends were watching MTV and reruns of Three's Company, I was at home watching Nick at Nite. Nick at Nite was home to all the classic oldies, from My Three Sons and The Patty Duke Show to Mary Tyler Moore and Mister Ed. Every night starting at 8pm I was transported back in time to a world of black and white; where homes were kept in perfect order, families sat down "together" for home cooked meals, children respected their parents, marriages were kept sacred with separate beds, and the closest thing to profanity was an occasional "gee whiz." Although every family represented during this era of TV Land was happy, loving, and capable of solving all of life's problems in a 30 minute time frame, one show in particular epitomized the "perfect" family- The Donna Reed Show.

The Donna Reed Show starred Donna Reed as Donna Stone, the always put together housewife of Dr. Alex Stone, and mother to teenagers Mary and Jeff. Most episodes followed a similar 3-part order of events:
1. Alex would kiss Donna at the door as he headed off to work.
2. A typical family crisis would occur.
3. Donna would swoop in (dressed in heels, pearls, and an apron of course) with a solution and a batch of homemade cookies and all would be well again in the Stone family.

Donna was the heart of the home and her family adored her. She made balancing work (she worked part-time as a Nurse), housework, family time, and civic duties look easy. She never raised her voice to the children, she wouldn't be caught dead in sweat pants, and always had time to sit down with a neighbor in need. She was SuperWoman! (To learn more about The Donna Reed Show go here.)

The show sounds harmless enough, right? That's what I thought...... To be continued in a couple of hours.