Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Playgroup for mamas

Bean just went down for a much-needed nap. It was so needed, in fact, that she even requested it herself with a plaintive, "Seepy! Kib!" while still eating lunch in her high chair. Say no more, kiddo, say no more.

So here I sit at the glorious beginning of 2 hours of mama time. I've already tidied up the lunch dishes and all the toys after our morning's playgroup. I get to blog here now and move on to a sewing project in a bit.

Before I move on, though, I should note that our playgroup this morning was really stellar. We had a fourth mom join us just before the holidays with her 18-month old daughter and she somehow seems to make everyone mesh much more smoothly. It's not something she's actively doing. The other 2 moms were a bit high-strung and I don't think I was imagining a bit of tension between them. The fourth mom helps to interrupt that tension just by being here. Plus, one of those high strung moms was home with her little boy this morning because his pediatrician said his ear infection could be contagious. (Um, okay...) That left just us other three with our respective little girls. We talked about our husbands and ex-jobs and ate chocolate chip cookies freely and enthusiastically. And for the first time, the conversation contained some cussing. Just a bit, so that we could test the reaction of the other moms. One said dammit, one said shit, and I, being the hostess, let rip the delightful adjective, "fuckin' " while describing the cats' propensity to shred the porch screen door. Even the f-word was received with laughter and visible relief from the other moms. Nothing like a well-timed f-word to make everyone relax, at least in some crowds. (No, you prisses out there, I didn't say it in front of our babies.)

Some of you city girls and Yankees out there probably think I'm laying the drama on a bit, but you've gotta be careful here in the 'burbs with the whole potty mouth thing, especially if you happen to live in the South. The infamous Senator Jesse Helms once suggested that Chapel Hill be fenced off as the state zoo, referring to it's freakishly liberal population. Even so, it's taken us 4 months of weekly playgroups to get to this point.

Now that we're here I'm going to look forward to playgroup for myself and not just for the sake of Bean having some social interaction. It's such a pleasant surprise to make friends as a grown-up, no?

5 comments:

Mall Worker said...

When I'm with people I don't know I'm always relived by the occasional f-bomb. Lets me know I'm not the only one who cusses from time to time, and not in front of the kiddos.

Angel said...

I'm with Nikkie...while it used to be favorite word, I try not to say it anymore, but it doesn't bother me at all if someone else does.!

I think it's great to make friends as a grown up...I find I appreciate them so much more, since they are sorta hard to come by!

devilishsouthernbelle.net said...

I love finding moms that I actually might mesh with. It happens so seldom. Here's to many, many more fun and relaxing playdates for the moms!

cubmommy said...

That is great you found some moms to have fun with. It is so nice when you can relax and be yourself.

Anonymous said...

I try to be careful about cursing among moms I don't know too well, but since I'm not a cursing teetotaler it's a relief to find other moms who don't mind punctuating their speech with a bit of colorful language. Glad you've found a good group!

And yes, I agree that Chapel Hill (though progressive in relation to some of its southern neighbors) isn't exactly a place where you want to let the expletives fly. ;-)