It's hard to believe I'm halfway through my 6th month as a stay-at-home mom. It's even harder to believe how much I love it. As most of my loyal readers know, I loved my job at Teamwork Associates a ridiculous amount. With such an exciting and social job, I never believed I could handle the tediousness of staying home all day. I've found, however, that the hard part of staying home isn't the monotony, but the moments of stress when Charlie is out of my control or I'm juggling too many balls in the air. It's a different kind of stress than what I've dealt with before--it's intense but short-lived, and stress that I can't prevent or control. Sometimes, like the awful day when Charlie fell sobbing to the ground of the slushy parking lot and my arms were overflowing with groceries, I actually feel proud of my new found ability to keep my cool and get through the moment, second by second.
I'm also fascinated by my discovery of the secret daytime lives of stay-at-home moms. While older children are at school and the rest of the world is working, toddlers and mommy's roam the grocery stores, drive the nearly empty streets in SUVs and gather at the library, gym, and playgroups in droves. In a small town like Oxford, mom and tot pairs are quickly recognized and (usually) welcomed into the club. I've noticed the initiation follows a particular pattern: first comes something like an acknowledging nod and small smile from car to car at stoplights, soon moms move to polite questions about things like the holidays and approaching due dates in line at the grocery store, and within a few weeks the short conversations turn to personal topics like the amazing improvement of the other child's eczema or disbelief over how how quickly the other family recovered from the food poisoning they got from so and so's house. Finally, when the initiation is nearly complete, the playdate invitations start. This week I'm feeling smug and accepted after three playdates in a row. I must have done the stay-at-home mom dance correctly! Now, if I could only figure out how to move on to the allusive step of making some real friends... In the meantime, I'm having fun learning about this hidden society and seeing the world through a new pair of eyes.
2 comments:
You are the best!! I miss you so much. I adore your description of the secret life of stay at home moms. Hope you are feeling ok!
Nicole
My darling ever-so-pregnant daughter!!! I do believe you are looking even more pregnant this time around than last. The BIG difference being now you have Charlie to both help and hender you carry the load.
Coach and I look so forward to reading your blogs. First, we LOVE to see and hear about the antics of our grandson. Second, you are such a clever writer. If you wrote a column for a local paper on parenthood I would look forward to reading it. You have a funny Erma Bombeck quality (anyone over 50 knows what I am talking about!).
By the looks of things, we will be heading to Oxford to meet Charlie's little brother sooner than expected. As Charlie grows older his features began to look more like Billy's. I can hardley wait to see what "little Wilson Meier 2 is going to look like.
Post a Comment