I am tired of being told I don't exist.

I am beginning to think that something big has happened and I missed it. Apparently, I have ceased to exist. Who knew?

According to the Washington Post, no one has books in their living rooms anymore. We do. In the living room, the bedrooms, the basement, the dining room...

We don't have a tv in the living room. In fact, there's only one in the house, and no cable. The door-to-door cable guy couldn't believe that when we do use the tv, we use a regular old antenna. That just doesn't happen. Apparently.

According to WAMU's Dianne Rehm Show, no one cooks anymore. I do. Every single day. I bake, too. And make candy. I even make my husband's lunch, nearly every day. Also, I sew and knit clothing for my family.

People in this house know how to play actual musical instruments, and do so. Frequently.

According to many, many outlets, no one reads anymore. I read more now than I ever did. So does the rest of my family. And we go to the library.

According to many of those same outlets, families don't eat together any more. We eat dinner together -- which is usually on the table when my husband (the only one I've ever had) gets home -- every night.

Also, apparently, everyone lives in much bigger houses today. We live in a small Cape Cod built in 1949. It has not been expanded one iota (not even a deck). We have a tiny kitchen without a dishwasher. In fact, the only real improvements since 1949 have been replacing major appliances as they've died.

We have one car. It's american.

And no one has a community anymore, or so I hear. We live in Cheverly, an amazing, active community. We know the teenagers. We know their parents. We're fairly certain we know many of the kids whom our own kids will date in a decade or so. Grandparents live here, close to their children and grandchildren. In some cases, right next door. And Facebook keeps us connected to family and friends that, in other times, we would have lost contact with long ago. In fact, I feel more in tune with people in my life than I ever have.

I am a stay-at-home mom who volunteers in the community and at my children's schools.

If I went by the media, I really would have to question my own existence. The thing is, I know that there are other families out there, just like mine. In fact, I have a feeling there are a lot of us, all beginning to doubt if anyone knows we're here anymore.