It appears that in the burbs people sign their children up for way to many different extra curricular activities that fill their otherwise carefree childhood days. Children are shuttled from one place to another in minivans adorned with funny little stick figure stickers on their rear windows. These stickers are obviously there to help tell the different minivans apart from one another. This may cause a chuckle or a grimace from the local lobstermen and mechanics around here, but let's take a look at our local school parking lot at pick up time. It seems to be half filled with those same minivans, carting children all over the midcoast. The difference is that most our children's activities are a time consuming half hour of drive, each way. This leaves absolutely no time for good quality family dinners, unless we schedule a 'family game night'. My own children have an activity every day of the week, except Wednesday, when I have scheduled PTO meetings once a month.
Let's consider gossip. In the burbs, everyone knows who is up to date on all their vaccinations, who's children have what 'horrible' childhood illness, and even what little Susie had to eat for lunch yesterday. Here in my little town we wouldn't spread these rumors so fast would we? Well, let's consider what happens when those letters from the nurse come home about head lice in our child's class. Well, head lice stories quickly become THE topic of discussion while waiting for children at pick-up time. The lengths we will each go to, or not go to, in protecting our children from this awful, horrible, life altering, but let's face it common childhood occurrence. Hairspray, ponytails, and did you just scratch your head, I think I will sit over here instead. Well at least when we all get to updating our Facebook accounts, we certainly don't gossip about who said what in the parking lot, or explain why we had to be for ballet, again, or what our little angel saw at lunchtime. . . . Or do we?
Looking back at the blog's amusing list of rules for the burbs. . . it seems that moms often wear their designer workout clothes, for appearances mostly though. They are trying to look like they are either headed to or coming from a class at the gym and didn't have time to change into regular clothes, while reality is they probably haven't exercised in a month. I spend a large amount of my afternoon time waiting for my children, with other parents, and wearing workout clothes. But I am not actually working out, I am catching up on my crafting, or writing on my iPad, while waiting at the gym. Around here, parents wear yoga pants to the gym, the grocery store, or even to PTO meetings, and they are most likely, designer knock-offs.
The differences are getting a little foggy and hazy around the edges. Perhaps by looking at what mothers do while their sweet cherubs are at school will help to bring some clarity to the burbs versus the boroughs. In the burbs, mothers are expected to take up crafting and jewelry making. They churn out bracelets, picture frames and hair accessories that are sold to other moms at craft fairs for way too much money. While here in my little town, the moms I know make money selling other things like candles, kitchen gadgets and flowery bags at in-home parties for friends. Looking closely at these two sales tactics, it appears the other moms buy things they don't want, for money they don't have to spend. Strange similarities are emerging between "us" and "them". Especially when I consider I am starting my own craft of small woolen gnomes, for sale locally.
Perhaps a difference can be found in the neighborhood extras. Ah ha, here we do see a stark difference, at last. In the suburbs coffee shops and grocery stores can be found on just about every other street corner. While here in rural Maine, we are lucky to have even one coffee shop in each town and hardly a grocery store for all your needs can be found unless you drive another time wasting half an hour. So there you have it! We are different from those suburban moms, we don't have commerce.
Not really sure if that is a good thing or not though. Perhaps I will head to my kitchen in my new yoga pants, to make a cappuccino, while I contemplate this issue with my Facebook momma friends, who mostly live in my borough.