My 15 year high school reunion is coming up and I have to admit that I am excited about it, for the most part. I had a great time in high school and was actually really sad to graduate. I went to an all girl's private school in the suburbs of New York, and it was the best decision my parents ever made for me.
“Lainie’s mom said Kira’s shorts are too short and she shouldn’t wear makeup to school.”
“Anil’s parents told him he’s lucky both his parents are Indian. His family feels sorry for Sarah because her dad is African American and her mom is White.”
“Jill told me it is too bad you’re Christian and Dad is Jewish. That’s why I don’t get a bat mitzvah.”
“Erin’s mom says Jordan is NEVER welcome in their house again.”
We know them well, don’t we?
The moms who can’t do their carpool duties because of a birthday, the moms who book a play date and then dash off to do some errand, and the mom who never invites your kids to play because her “house is under renovation.”
Cotillion is a charming tradition in the American South that attempts to mold children into fine young ladies and gentlemen through a series of formal and informal dances. If it sounds stuffy and antiquated and exclusive, that’s because it is. Kind of.
One morning last school year after dashing around the house trying to feed the kids, get their outdoor gear on, and convincing my two year old that she does in fact have to come with me to drop my son off at school and she cannot stay home--you know how the morning rush goes--we were a few minutes behind schedule.
For the final event of the school year, my daughter’s Brownie troop hosted a mother-daughter tea, at the home of one of the girls in the troop. Now, this would have been lovely, except that the tea was not just any old tea. This tea was being billed as an “etiquette lesson,” and was to be led by an expert in etiquette and manners. Oy.
A few posts ago, entitled, Losing It, I wrote about my boyfriend's son's friend, Robert, who asked me for cash so he could get a snack when we were at the movies. I thought this was a case of one kid being rude. I was wrong. I'm starting to think that it might be an epidemic that's infecting our children.
Are kids lazy or ignorant? And by the way, neither is acceptable to this Girlfriend Mom. Elbows on the dinner table, watching TV while eating, not clearing dishes, slouching over their food... not okay. And as a Pilates instructor, slouching is like giving me the finger.
“Don’t talk with your mouthful, Mommy,” my 5-year-old daughter says over dinner.
“Whummppt?” I ask as a broccoli floret tumbles from my mouth.
Nose picking is one of the most common and annoying habits your child can develop. Your child might start picking his nose because it's itchy, infected, irritated or just because he's curious. But once he starts, you'll need to nip the habit in the bud if you don't want to deal with increased nasal infection and potential nosebleeds -- both consequences of too-frequent picking.
