Could You Make Yourself Less Oblivious, Please?

[stringtheory]

I usually worked when my daughter was ending her day at school, and rarely made it to pick her up. On the few days that I could, I would stand in the area where all the elementary parents would congregate, chatting and waiting for the hordes to pour down the walkway. I was living in Orange County California at this time. I tried to paste myself to the brick wall, being one of the few working mothers that no one here saw or knew personally; the other mothers chatted, made play dates, and gossiped. I stared painfully down the walkway waiting. I did meet a few moms from my neighborhood, and though I didn't really get together with them per-se, I would exchange hello's and how do you do's.

One particular day, I stood in my hoodie and jeans, glancing around at the small groups of tanned moms dressed in outfits that varied from business casual to night-on-town and beachy sundresses. I'm not an ugly woman, just not a feminine or fashionable one. I watched a mother coming toward me, pushing a newborn in a Jeep stroller, her Coach diaper bag draped on one shoulder. She began laughing and paused right next to me, away from the crowd of mothers and a few dads.

"I am so relieved. Can you believe that email Kara sent out to everyone? What was she thinking?" She pushed her ginormous sunglasses back slightly on her nose, her head cocked lightly, face pointed right at mine. I looked around quickly and discreetly and decided that she meant for me to answer her question.

"I-I-I'm not sure who Kara is? I didn't get an emai-" Before I could finish, the woman interrupted me.

"For sure, I could tell that immediately. Oh, hold on, baby's getting fussy."

The baby was indeed getting fussy and as the woman I wasn't sure I knew bent down and turned her face away from me, I caught a glimpse of the Motorola earpiece half hiding behind a lock of brunette hair.

I don't know if she heard me, but I felt my face flame up; I edged away before she could stand up straight and hid around the corner. Was I THAT mom? The one so discreet and un-inspiring, you felt comfortable talking on hands-free right in front of her? Good Lord. I need a Gucci hoody, I suppose.

Tags: school, funny, embarrassing, other moms, irritating, designer

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[BrokeLove]

Nov. 7, 2009 at 6:08 PM

LOL.. I have done that before..