Nerdy Mom

The other day as I was driving Ty and Shayla to school, Ty told me how embarrassing it is when I send a note in his lunch. His football buddies try to steal it away and tease him about it. Okay...so no more notes. He's only eight, but I'm already embarrassing him. How is this possible? I thought it wouldn't kick in until middle school. I used to be so cool...I was the expert on everything, and now...

Actually, it started REALLY early with Shayla. Last year I promised Shayla I'd come to lunch with her (she was in Kindergarten) and she was so excited. Well, I had a crazy morning of errands, worked out at the Y, and didn't have time to shower after my workout. I had a choice--skip lunch with Shayla or run over in my workout clothes and keep my lunch date with her. Well, I chose to keep the lunch date, thinking she would rather have me there than skip it just for my pride. Wrong! As soon as she saw me she said, "Mom, your hair is all messy!" She then proceeded to tell me to take my ponytail out and it would look better. Once that correction was made, she seemed okay enough with my appearance to still be excited about having lunch with me. I just thought I had at least 5 years before I had to watch my every move around my kids at school and with their friends.

I remember when I was 12 or 13 The Little Mermaid came out and my Mom took all seven of us kids to go see it. We didn't go to the movies a lot, so we were pretty excited. We went to the store first and each picked out our favorite treat to sneak in with us (you remember those .10 boxes of lemon heads, jaw breakers, etc.), and then settled in at the movies. I remember being SO embarrassed when one of my younger brothers/sisters (can't remember who--but it was probably Jacob) dropped their candy and you could hear it rolling all the way down to the front of the theatre. And then you could hear my little bro crying because he lost his candy. I was trying to sink into my seat so that I wouldn't be seen. And now I look back--what was the big deal? We make much bigger scenes on a daily basis now just going to the grocery store. A few tantrums, spills, scenes...that's nothing! All in a days work :) And you know what? I think it's good for my kids to have some healthy humiliation via their mom -- I'm pretty proud of myself that I can embarrass them so well already. It builds character, right? I think it means I'm doing something right :)

So maybe I'll still sneak an occasional note into Ty's lunch. I told him I'd just put it inside his sandwich and he'd have to eat it to know what it said. He just rolled his eyes. Can't wait until he's a teenager. As for Shayla, she loves getting notes in her lunch, so at least someone appreciates me...for the time being (as long as i fix my hair and put make-up on). Sheesh, who knew it was so tough out there for a nerdy mom.