Ladeedah

I am a none-of-your-business year old woman. I am tall. I have had four children. I live on the shores of Lake Superior, in the most beautiful city I know of. I have been married for nine years. I am actively involved in community and semi-professional theater. I sing soprano. I am a bad tap dancer. I ALWAYS prefer autumn to summer. But I don’t know how to categorize myself except to say that I don’t fit into a category, at least not just one category.

Example:

Back when my eldest daughter was in pre-school, they had a Halloween costume parade, and of course I went (she was a bumblebee, in case you were wondering) and I was really struck by how much older than me all the other moms were. They came into the classroom, all grouped together, wearing their zip-up fleece vests, khaki pants, white socks and Birkenstocks.

The moms in this area seem to have shiny, scrubbed faces and a robust healthiness to them.....very Scandinavian. The median age appears to be 35. And then there's me.....in my red lipstick and head-to-toe black. No one talked to me. No one sat by me. Don't get me wrong, ----it didn't bother me. I am quite content not to be included in their yuppie/mommy groups and conversations ("did you hear Mary and Stan built a new deck onto their house? Cedar." or "I found this great pair of high waisted jeans at Chico's. I can't stand the hip huggers kids are wearing these days!" or "Would you like some of the squash from my garden? I am into pureeing organic vegetables these days and adding it to my brownies and cookies.")

These are the same mothers who grow older and suddenly start wearing holiday motif sweater with pumpkins and snowmen on them. These are the same mothers who cut their hair shorter and shorter each year until the 'old lady' haircut emerges.

That will NOT be me.

Maybe when my kids are older they'll think I'm the cool mom.

I hang out with my friends. I sometimes like to wear shirts that show a little cleavage. I have a very active life outside of my home that includes rehearsal, wine, friends, fun.

However, I am still a dedicated mom who thinks her kids are the smartest and best kids in the universe (no use arguing). I love to decorate the Christmas tree and drive around in the car with the fam and look at Christmas lights and watch my breath on the window. I love building traditions and watching them grow. I hang their art on the refrigerator. I monitor how much TV they watch. I am opinionated about breastfeeding and choices in childbirth. I like to cook and bake (some of the time) and I aspire to be a scrap-booker, although I never actually do it.

So, yeah. Contradictions all over the place. This is not a mommy blog. This is not a theater and arts blog. This is not a Christian blog, or a beauty-lovers blog, nor is it a social blog---but I still happen to be all of those things, all at the same time. So get used to it.

:)