Whew!
by GinafishI’m glad last week is over. It was the much anticipated week of Safety Town!! Woohoo!! *yawn*
Getting the 3 of us out of the house every morning by 7:15 or 7:45 wasn’t as horrible as I thought it might be except that I also had to squeeze in some house work before we left. Try to get a load of laundry and dishes on top of breakfast, ironing, makeup, etc…
The heat was so bad we stayed most afternoons at my mother’s house for naps (Thanks MOM!) and so then by the time I got home, the house was usually between 86 and 88 degrees. Which made any thought of chores in the afternoon impossible. Luckily I got caught up on Saturday, a right nice cool morning.
I had fun working with the little kids and most of the other women. It was a little odd working with a group of women who mostly knew each other, while I didn’t know any of them. Within an hour of being there, I bonded with the other woman who 1. was not in the Junior Auxiliary, and 2. had volunteered to help with Safety Town because her daughter was in it. So we had 2 things in common. The other thing that we had going for us was that I was loud and bossy with the kids, while she was quiet. Ya gotta have a leader and follower.
The volunteers had this weird rotating schedule and no one would know until the next class was there who was going to be paired up with what other leader, and then where they were going to take the kids. Is it Cristal or Melody that I’m with? Are we going to take the kids on the big wheels or into the class to learn about bike safety first? To me, it seemed pretty fly by the seat of your pants which for me is a nice way to say ‘disorganized’.
But the kids didn’t notice and they all had fun and that was what counted.
Going to Safety Town also gave me a glimpse of what the Fall will be like when E starts school. It is going to be hard. Period. For him, for me and more for Suzanne than I realized. He is her sole playmate. He will leave at 6:30 am and return at 4pm. She is going to be with mommy for 10 hours all by her lonesome. Now when E was the only one hear it was different because he was a baby and too little to play with anyone else, and he demanded all my attention. She will be prime playmate age. :/ I’ve got to figure something out.
We don’t know anyone with kids her age that live within 30 minutes of us. I don’t know anyone else who is a stay at home mom within 30 minutes of myself. I am not the type of person to start a playgroup. I don’t like other mothers. There I said it. I like mothers of older kids and of little babies, but not mothers who have kids the same age as my own. Why? Because, inevitably it starts a comparison. Look who’s taller, who’s mother is staying home and can afford to, who is really struggling and poor, whose kids are smarter, who’s eating healthy, who’s not learned to ride a bike, etc… Life isn’t a contest, and there is no winner so why can’t we just get a long and let them play??
I don’t mind when he’s in school and the teacher makes comparisons, bc she’s/he’s not comparing the child to their own perfect children, they are comparing them to other kids with different faults. On the other side of the holier than thou mother is the self depricating one whose own child she points out their faults. “oh dear, my son just isn’t as smart as yours. My daughter has such bad teeth, how do get yours to brush their teeth”. I don’t like whiners either. {Note to readers, venting online is not the same as whining because you can choose to close the window and quit reading, this is all my opinion, it stinks just like everyone elses, if someone is whining you mostly have to be pc and take it like a man} Now back on topic: Listen, all kids are different, all parents are different, and I can’t help you with yours, any more than you can change mine. Let’s just let them play. Please.
Thanks for letting me spout off today. 
