When the regular playgroup facilitator introduced me to the new lady, she said we've already met. I was like, "we have?" Cause I can't keep all those middle-age, teacher-looking ladies straight. And she mentioned she remembers me from the Friday playgroup. I was so thrown off and for some reason I felt like I was cheating or something. I don't know, going to more than one playgroup at a time, is that cheating?
Anyway, I was very thrown off and ended up saying that her playgroup was too crowded but we would try it again around the holidays. Smooth, right? I have no idea why I said that. So, I'm sure that made a good second impression - after my eye rolling last week. I'll bet she's just thrilled to have my son in her school. Well, she is facilitating this group as well as the Friday one at her school. So my nice relaxing group that I love has been infiltrated by this educational-uppity-accredited-professional-teacher lady! I knew this playgroup was called "Parents as Teachers" but since last year it didn't seem to involve any "teaching" I just thought it was a catchy name to entice people. But honestly, I don't want to be a teacher to my child. I just want to be his mom. Can't his teachers be teachers?
Oh, and she informs me that she will be our transitional adviser when we start getting ready for preschool in the spring. I just can't seem to get away from this lady! And it gets worse.
There are people out there that make certain assumptions about me. I am white, my child looks biracial (he is, although he is mostly Hispanic), I look pretty young too, and I don't dress/act like a typical mom. By that I don't mean anything offensive. I just mean that I am very laid back and say things to Mateo like, "chill out" and "don't get an attitude." I've never been to a playgroup with my husband so some people assume I'm not married, Mateo was an "accident", and I'm uneducated, poor, and need help to become a good parent. Which is just not the case - I am educated! Whereas if I was middle-aged, dressed preppy, and played golf, people would assume he was adopted from Guatemala.
So, I get a lot of unsolicited advice from people very similar to this playgroup lady. But this particular woman really irked me. I have my own agenda when I go to playgroups. I let Mateo play and I sit down somewhere comfortable and watch. This is a very thought-out strategy. Since there are all new toys that Mateo isn't sick of, he plays nicely by himself and leaves me alone. This gives me a break from playing cars, blocks, torture Luca, and eating strange things off the floor, for that one hour of peace. I'm a slacker mom. This is what I do.
Well, this new playgroup lady kept pushing me to be involved! I know, crazy right? She totally disrupted my routine and changed the whole dynamic of the group. We had a good vibe going and she had to bust in and make us play with our kids! Not only that but she kept telling me I should do this and that with him to help his speech and whatever else. And I was just like...
"blah blah blah...go away!" (not out loud, in my head)
I know it's not very mature, but seriously, he already has a speech therapist. I did conveniently add into the conversation that I used to work in special education. And that we adopted Mateo and I'm not an unwed mother living off of welfare and that I do know what I'm doing. Well, that last part may not be true, but she doesn't need to know that. I just really don't like this lady for some reason. You know how you can get a strong vibe about a particular person sometimes? I just have a bad vibe about her. And it sucks that we will be having to work with her at some point in Mateo's preschool career.
Anyway, I would homeschool but I couldn't stand being around my kid 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. He needs to go somewhere and I need to have a life.
get a look at that face!
dig right in! (it's a caramel apple if you can't tell)
not so great on the teeth, we found out
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