This week’s post is inspired by a fellow mom that I met recently.  At the start of the summer, I joined a book club.  Fun fact: I have been in many book clubs and until this one, the group has never met past meeting #1.  I found out about my current book club from one of the many “mom” email digests that I am part of.  At the first meeting I was a part of, the conversation evolved to a variety of topics, one of which was how we were inevitably named a “Moms Book Club.”  One of the members began talking about how she rebelled against the “Mom” label on her activities, especially when she had her first child.  Why did we have to be a “Mom” book club. Why couldn’t we just be a book club? Yes, being a mom is a (large) part of our identities, but is it necessary to dominate all of our activities, especially the grown up ones, where our kids don’t even participate?  Curious to hear others’ thoughts and experiences. I hadn’t given much thought to the topic prior to our conversation, but it was something that stuck with me. In fact, I’d like to think of this as a “non-moms” mom blog, if such a thing exists. I’m also happy to report that not only has my book club met multiple times, but I have met some really wonderful women.

Today’s Tidbit: My husband was out of town last weekend.  My mother-in-law suggested that we come to her house on Saturday afternoon to bake cookies with my sister-in-law and nieces. It sounded like a fun day. However, my daughter was conspicuously quiet in the back seat about 20 minutes into the trip.  Then, right as I was merging on the highway, I heard the dreaded sound. I pulled off the highway as soon as I could and cleaned her up the best I could with baby wipes.  I called my mother-in-law apologizing and saying I would take A home. She suggested we come anyway, after all A didn’t seem sick and was already in good spirits again.  I agreed and we got back on the road.  15 minutes later, 2 minutes from my MIL’s driveway, it happened again.  I got A cleaned up again and into the house. Within minutes she was running around asking for food.  I took out the car seat and put the cover in the wash and then went to retrieve the her nasty jacket from the car.  One problem: her jacket was gone.  I had managed to leave it on the lawn of the house I had found when I pulled off the highway in the chaos! Let’s just say I had a good laugh when I imagined someone finding it after my long day.

Wishing you a low stress week,

Emily