Nov 22, 2010
Nov 16, 2010
Official Response from The MNN
The following is an email received this weekend from a founding MNN member in response to my last post:
Amanda,
Loved your blog! You, however, are only seeing this from your side of the fence, which is natural. For a moment, stand in my shoes.
I have been in preschool PTA, Westpark PTA, ALA PTA, Western Hills PTSA, and a fan of countless soccer games, cross country meets, religious ed. classes at church, car pools, church choir driver, raised LOTS of money for all kinds of projects, bought cookies, candy bars, popcorn, candles, greeting cards, all to support kids stuff; for 23 years.
AHHH! I need a break! I think I will move out of state! Nobody knows me there! No one will ask me to chair a committee or organize a fund raiser! I can go to church and sing in the pew and not make a banner or head a ministry! I can putz around in my yard, walk my dog, play loud music whenever I want, and not cook for the family and their friends!
So, what happens?
My good friend tells me her daughter can't wait for me to get to Maryland so she can come visit me! I say, but I will be several hours away. My good friend says that her daughter tells her that she can be in 5 states within an hour!
What to do?
The lesson here is that the apron strings are very long and very strong! We all need family and friends.
Yes, Amanda, you can visit us. I hear you are going to visit Tom and Julie? Guess you need to be in the kitchen of one of the Mom Squad for a while. It's OK to admit you still need mothering. We all do, just not in large doses, and not ALL the time.
Love,
Mama K
Oh, to walk a mile in the shoes of a MNN member- EXHAUSTING! Even the MNN needs a break now and again. Thanks for raising the neighborhood!
“Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them and you have their shoes.” - Jack Handy
Amanda,
Loved your blog! You, however, are only seeing this from your side of the fence, which is natural. For a moment, stand in my shoes.
I have been in preschool PTA, Westpark PTA, ALA PTA, Western Hills PTSA, and a fan of countless soccer games, cross country meets, religious ed. classes at church, car pools, church choir driver, raised LOTS of money for all kinds of projects, bought cookies, candy bars, popcorn, candles, greeting cards, all to support kids stuff; for 23 years.
AHHH! I need a break! I think I will move out of state! Nobody knows me there! No one will ask me to chair a committee or organize a fund raiser! I can go to church and sing in the pew and not make a banner or head a ministry! I can putz around in my yard, walk my dog, play loud music whenever I want, and not cook for the family and their friends!
So, what happens?
My good friend tells me her daughter can't wait for me to get to Maryland so she can come visit me! I say, but I will be several hours away. My good friend says that her daughter tells her that she can be in 5 states within an hour!
What to do?
The lesson here is that the apron strings are very long and very strong! We all need family and friends.
Yes, Amanda, you can visit us. I hear you are going to visit Tom and Julie? Guess you need to be in the kitchen of one of the Mom Squad for a while. It's OK to admit you still need mothering. We all do, just not in large doses, and not ALL the time.
Love,
Mama K
Oh, to walk a mile in the shoes of a MNN member- EXHAUSTING! Even the MNN needs a break now and again. Thanks for raising the neighborhood!
“Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them and you have their shoes.” - Jack Handy
Nov 10, 2010
The MNN (Mom News Network)
Have you ever felt like you had more than one mom watching over you? Has the entire town you grew up in ever known all your business, maybe even before you did? Have you ever been pulled over by the police on the main road and before you can get home to tell your parents they already know? If you said yes to any of these then you may have been a target of the MNN.
The MNN is an elusive organization of mothers who have banned together to watch over everyone’s children. When you were a kid this meant someone kept a watchful eye over you and your friends playing in the street. It was the babysitting co-op where the moms babysat neighborhood kids in exchange for coupons they could use to get a babysitter in the future. Did you get grounded at recess? Don’t worry about breaking the news to your parents- THEY ALREADY KNOW, but they will pretend they don’t to see if you say anything first. As we got older it was the same old thing, just bigger issues. Make-out with the cute guy behind the gym (and no one was around)? The MNN knows. Run that stop sign in Westpark? The MNN knows. Fighting with the best friend? THE MNN KNOWS.*
I have been trying to escape the MNN for as long as I can remember. I now live 1,400 miles away and have successfully escaped. Well, I thought I had escaped. One of the founding members of the MNN is moving to the very state where I currently reside and I GUARANTEE that my being twenty-six-years-old will make no difference to the MNN powers that be. Well it was a nice MNN-free six months.
*Disclaimer: The MNN isn’t ALL bad. It’s nice to have mom #2 to run to when you’re fighting with your own. Or to pick you up from soccer when you need a ride. Or to teach you how to use the fancy knives. Or to give you a job when you really need one. Or to help take care of you when you’re sick. Sometimes I don’t think I’d be the person I am today without such a fantastic MNN. But officially, I’m annoyed.
The MNN is an elusive organization of mothers who have banned together to watch over everyone’s children. When you were a kid this meant someone kept a watchful eye over you and your friends playing in the street. It was the babysitting co-op where the moms babysat neighborhood kids in exchange for coupons they could use to get a babysitter in the future. Did you get grounded at recess? Don’t worry about breaking the news to your parents- THEY ALREADY KNOW, but they will pretend they don’t to see if you say anything first. As we got older it was the same old thing, just bigger issues. Make-out with the cute guy behind the gym (and no one was around)? The MNN knows. Run that stop sign in Westpark? The MNN knows. Fighting with the best friend? THE MNN KNOWS.*
I have been trying to escape the MNN for as long as I can remember. I now live 1,400 miles away and have successfully escaped. Well, I thought I had escaped. One of the founding members of the MNN is moving to the very state where I currently reside and I GUARANTEE that my being twenty-six-years-old will make no difference to the MNN powers that be. Well it was a nice MNN-free six months.
*Disclaimer: The MNN isn’t ALL bad. It’s nice to have mom #2 to run to when you’re fighting with your own. Or to pick you up from soccer when you need a ride. Or to teach you how to use the fancy knives. Or to give you a job when you really need one. Or to help take care of you when you’re sick. Sometimes I don’t think I’d be the person I am today without such a fantastic MNN. But officially, I’m annoyed.
Nov 8, 2010
Nov 3, 2010
untitled
the lights race by
blur
darkness
nothing
you smile shyly
read your paper
pretend not to notice
focus focus focus
i see that glance
corner of your eye
quick to the paper
pretend not to notice
i stay plugged in
read my book
pretend not to notice
watch the lights race by
blur
darkness
nothing
watch the lights race by
blur
darkness
nothing
repeat
Nov 1, 2010
WHERE HAVE I BEEN?
Right over here, hiding (and busy!) in western Maryland, still not great at the whole blog routine thing. Moving on.
September began with signing up to coach soccer at the YMCA. Not a new venture for me overall, but this time I was coaching a U6 team, meaning they were mostly 5-year-olds.
September began with signing up to coach soccer at the YMCA. Not a new venture for me overall, but this time I was coaching a U6 team, meaning they were mostly 5-year-olds.
OH THE HILARITY.
Kiddos stuck in the net, countless untied shoes, teaching them how to do headers (they loved it!), refusing to play “sharks-and-minnows” because it’s “too scary”, pretending to be airplanes during a game, the best high-fives ever and the cutest little tug on the corner of my shirt with a little one whispering “Coach Amanda, I scored a goal”. Coaching this age is one of my favorites. We may only be learning the very basics and have no idea what defense is or even which goal we are supposed to score in, but these kids were awesome and it was a privilege to be their coach for the last eight weeks.
Other happenings from September/October:
- Weekends in DC/NOVA
- 90’s throwback concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion, featuring Third Eye Blind, Billy Idol, The Presidents, Lit and Fuel
- Survived some major hectic work things
- Pub crawl on H-Street
- Jukebox the Ghost concert at the Black Cat
- Explored new areas of the Canal
- Baked yummy treats for work
- My first visitor from Texas!
- Bought my first couch (unfortunately it arrived AFTER Jenn visited)
- Spent many hours studying for the GRE and working on grad school apps (WHY WONT YOU JUST TAKE MY LSAT SCORES?! Standardized tests are evil.)
- Death cough+strep throat+ear infection=no fun for Halloween
It has been an exciting albeit tough two months and now the leaves have turned the best shades of warm autumn colors and are beginning their fall into the long days of winter. The air was chilly today, but the sun was shining, the air crisp and although I was stuck at home sick, it was a great first of November.
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| Fall Leaves on the Billy Goat Trail |
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