MOMS Update

It has been interesting over the past week talking to other moms both in the Club and not about what I have been put through.

Those in the Club that I have opened up to about this have had oodles of empathy about what my family has been put through. Seriously... peeing behind a tree? The funniest moment though was when I was at the gym last week. L said, "So and So told me about the letters and I feel so bad for you." She was someone I really like but haven't had many opportunities to connect with. She's one of those people that you can just tell is nice. And I really do want to get to know her better.

But as we talked more about the content of the letters, all the color left her face and she started to say, "oh no, oh no, oh no" under her breath. I started to wonder if she knew who wrote them. Then, she said, "I'm really worried. Because this summer, we were at Blank Park and you know how that bathroom is up a big hill. Well, S told me he had to go to the bathroom, so I told him to pick a tree. But in a few minutes, I looked over and saw his bare bum. He was POOPING behind the tree!"

Laughing my rump off on the treadmill and trying desperately not to fall off, I said, "What did you do?"

She said, "I wiped him with a leaf and covered it with dirt!"

At this point, I smacked my hand off the side of the treadmill getting a nice bruise to remind me of the horrors of her playdate!

So.... do you think she'll get a letter? Or do you think this person was not there? :)

The other interesting thing was when I had a long conversation with my pharmaceutical rep friend, my veterinarian friend and my lawyer friend. They are all moms who work. They all agreed that they were not shocked that something like this would happen in a moms group.

So are we truly not able to support each other? Does it matter to you how I raise my children if they are not being harmed or in danger in any way? Or do you have a right to step in and write a letter that is "anonymous?"

The main lesson that I have learned from this is that I need to step back and really evaluate who I let into my "inner circle." I clearly am going to have some trust issues for a while.

I am who I am...

I am a member of a local Moms Group. The irony is that the acronym is Moms Offering Moms Support. I have in many ways felt support, but in so many not.

About a month ago, I was informed of two letters complaining about me. I was told that the one letter complained about my son peeing at a local park. The other letter complained that I cursed at a meeting.

First of all.... the world is a boy's urinal. My son knows that he needs to be private. Go hide behind a bush. We'll Purell your hands later. Second, I don't want to curse in front of my own children. So if I did, tell me then!

I confided in a few friends who all thought the whole thing was ridiculous. And I did feel support.

But then I got to read the actual letters. It was absurd. Absolutely absurd.

The woman who complained about the Pissing Playdate (as it will forever be known) also said that I have an aggressive child. Knowing full well who the person is, I cannot fathom why she would think that. She has an advanced degree. She should know about child behavior. And my child is NOT aggressive.

The other issue that she had was not so much that my son peed behind a bush, but that I talked about it. I told them that we were newly potty trained at our house and we've been working through when to pee and where. If you're inside, you go inside. If you're outside and it's an emergency or there is no bathroom, go be private. She didn't like this dialogue. Was she concerned that her son was going to get any ideas? I'm tempted to go pee in her yard.

The other letter was nitpicking. There were dates mentioned. And we do everything by Evite. So I can go back through and narrow down the list. And the list startles me. Someone who I thought was my friend clearly was not.

So what now? Thoughts?

Political Cartoon of the Day

We put up our sign!

Big Love and I went yesterday to the local Obama/Biden headquarters to get a sign for our yard.

They were cracking up at me because I don't talk to my kids about this election, just that there are two "major" candidates and that we have the freedom to go vote and say who we want to be president. I don't think that 3 is old enough to know the issues, but we can definitely talk about the process.

Well, when we walked in, I was holding BL and he said, "Where are we?" I said, "We are getting an Obama sign for our yard." And he said, "McCain is going to be sad!" The whole office cracked up!