Sooner mom of a high school wrestler trades places with artsy Easterner

MICHAEL WYKE / Tulsa World Cade, Teresa and Gary Ketchum are stars in their own lives in Wednesday’s episode of “Wife Swap.”

What happens when you switch the mom of an Oklahoma family that "breathes and sleeps wrestling" for a Maryland mother whose family of nine is all about artistic freedom and drawing on walls?

You get a raucous episode of the ABC series "Wife Swap," airing Wednesday.

Tulsan Teresa Ketchum admits she is a fan of the show -- a fan of watching it but not appearing on it, she said in a telephone interview Thursday.

"I definitely didn't want to be on the show," she said. "I don't like to be in pictures or to be videoed. I'm usually the one with the camera. My husband and son said they would love to go on the show and I told them, 'Don't even think about it.'

"Then I read on the wrestling Web site that they were looking for a wrestling family. My husband called, and I said, 'No, I'm not going to do this.' "

But she did.

Last November, she flew to Maryland to switch places with Donna Sheron, owner of a coffee shop for artists and musicians, mother of seven (all of whom work at the coffee shop) and a woman who doesn't believe in sports.

In Oklahoma, Ketchum,46, is devoted to making sure her 15-year-old son Cade succeeds as a freshman wrestler at Berryhill High School.

Her husband, Gary, 47, president of Teamsters Local 523, shares that dedication.

That dedication translates into a set of weighing scales in the pantry and a lock on the refrigerator so Cade won't drink water and thus fail to make his wrestling weight.

At the Sheron home, the kids have free artistic license to draw on the walls, wear what they want, pierce what they want. They are free to reject any and all sports activities.

On the series, the wives change places for two weeks. The first week, the "new" wife has to run the household according to a manual provided by the real wife. The second week, the tables are turned and the families have to abide by a new set of rules.

Most of the time, the change results in tears, shouting, some strong language and a renewed appreciation for their own families back home.

For Ketchum, watching Wednesday's episode in advance meant more laughter than anything else.

"I wasn't really nervous until the producer brought the DVD to the house and we watched it together," said Ketchum, who works as a house cleaner. "It turned out really good."

While Ketchum's husband is shown early in the show, insisting that singing or being in a band is "sissy," the Sheron family encourages all musical or artistic expression.

During the switch, Sheron makes Gary Ketchum attend a drawing class (with a nude model) and join a choir. Son Cade is told to back off his rigid wrestling practice schedule, take guitar lessons, eat anything he wants, wear black nail polish and perform in a screamo band.

Back in Maryland, Ketchum reasons with Don Sheron, urging him to support his children's participation in sports.

Donna Sheron was much louder in condemning the sports-centered "macho" goals of the Ketchums.

Everything comes to a head in a final meeting of both couples.

"Her screen name on MySpace is 'dramadonna' and she was pretty dramatic," said Ketchum. "I and her husband were kind of the laid-back types, while Gary and Donna were more vocal."

Ketchum said she had seen previous episodes in which the participants would break down and cry.

"It was pretty stressful having cameras follow you from morning to night," she said.

"On the show, what happens happens and you don't get to go back and do it over. I didn't cry and Gary didn't cry but Dan (Sheron) did when I was talking about him being a dad and needing to step up and make kids finish what they started and that education would equal success.

"Donna kept saying she didn't want to be a soccer mom. I tried to tell them that that's part of your kids. Cade knows when we're in the stands. As a parent, that's what you do. She commented that I had no time for myself. But, when I chose to have kids it becomes all about the kids," said Ketchum.

Ketchum said she did learn some things during the experience -- besides a new appreciation for her family.

"At the very beginning I said we don't want our son to be in band because it is sissy. Now I realize that being in the band, you have a lot of dedication to that also. The Berryhill Blue and Gold Brigade has won championships. I've come to see that music is just as important to them as wrestling is to us."

Since the episode was filmed, there have been changes.

Ketchum was pushed to loosen the reins on Cade and let him get less involved in wrestling and more involved in guitar lessons. The result wasn't what viewers might expect.

"(Donna Sheron) said, 'slack off' and and we slacked off," said Ketchum.

Cade wound up coming in third place in his weight class at the state tournament.

"After the show, he kind of stepped it up himself. We're very proud of him."