Thursday, February 8, 2007

Odd Mom Out

I am so not that mom who brings her kid to school really early so that she can socialize with the other moms. I am also not the mom who signs up to send in something I actually must bake; paper plates or napkins, please. I am not queen of the dioramas, queen of gossip or running for queen bee. I am the Odd Mom Out.

I am the mom who does not make friends with other kids' parents because - well - I don't want to. It's cool that our kids like each other and share a common fondness for Bionicles but, sorry, you're not my type. If you are my type, though, that's a bonus, but those parents are so few and far between. We met parents-in-common about five years ago and we were really, really good kid and couple friends for three years. She and I were in law school together, too, but didn't realize it at the time. We were destined to be friends in spite of the kid connection. The friendship is in a lull right now but only because she's busy running her own law firm and - oh yeah - she's got FOUR children.

But moms who run their own law firms while juggling the busy schedules of their children are not moms who hang-out on the playground. That's cool. But where are the moms who telecommute while attending grad school? I don't see them out there either and I'm looking because my friendship circle is getting pretty thin. I'm growing tired of the well-manicured, perfectly coordinated Stepford wives who only talk about religion and the PTA.

So, where are the heck ARE the other odd moms? We are not all attached by the finger pads to our laptops. We talk. We read. We drink Chai Tea Lattes between frantically working during the kids' school day. We are also a wee bit reclusive, which is probably why we are considered odd but I want more friends. I need to chat with other women who understand the unique challenges of being a mother, a wife, and a law student. Women who are cool and who are a bit gruppy like me. I keep looking for them but I never seem to find any other moms like me, which makes me feel lonely. But, mostly, I just feel odd.

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