You know how people tell you that high school isn’t like the real world? That all of the cliques will mysteriously vanish and everyone will be on a level playing field and we’ll all just get along like magic? Yeah, that is such a bunch of bull. I didn’t fit in when I was in high school and I really don’t fit in now.
We had our first art class, which I will review later this week, on Thursday. It was …interesting. The most interesting thing of all, however, is that I was the mommy with the child who was running around and not sitting like a little statue. I say that’s interesting because none of my former students would ever believe that I’d let my child be anything but a silent observer. The funny thing is, I don’t think toddlers should have to be little statues. I want my Little Bear to explore his world and be excited about new experiences. I am going to work on his attention span and getting him to sit still when it is appropriate but he wasn’t being bad, he was being an excited little boy.
Little Bear runs around all day long and this was his first exposure to other children (there were about seven others) and he’s never had to sit still in a chair unless he was eating or in trouble. The teacher was great and I’ll talk all about her in the review too. But this is supposed to be about me. So all of the mother’s when we first walked in were perfectly dressed, blonde and thin. I have nothing against this type of person in theory it’s just that I’m an overweight brunette and I was wearing yoga pants and a shirt and tennis shoes. I had makeup on and my hair was in a bun…don’t I get points for that? Noooo. I got a glance and I swear I felt like I was back in high school walking past the cheerleader’s table. It’s ok though I had Little Bear and Little Pig to keep me occupied. As for the children of the stepford wives, they all looked like they’d walked out of a Gap ad. I swear, the boys had polo shirts and Dockers and their hair was in artful curls. The little girl had on a sundress and they all sat there and I’m pretty sure didn’t say a single word. My son, on the other hand, has a buzz cut because his hair is thick like mine and he’s been sooo hot this summer we went for the cool and comfy military look and I had him in play clothes because I figured we’d be getting messy. Oh well. So much for fitting in! I guess my anxiety attack was well timed. My husband said if Little Bear wasn’t going to be interacting with other children (the primary reason for joining, because really? I can do art projects at home) to just drop it but I’m going to stick with it for the rest of this nine week course. Maybe everyone else will loosen up while Little Bear chills out and it’ll all work out.
So the question of the day is.. how do you handle playgroups when you don’t hit it off with the mommy’s in the play group? I’m not used to having to play nice, I usually just say whatever is on my mind and move on. But with kids…I’m going to have to watch that I guess. I kind of feel like Rhett Butler when he’s trying to make sure Bonnie is accepted into Atlanta’s social circle. ::sigh::
