and you wonder why i might need a little xanax before those birthday parties...

i had my very first, of what i hope are few and far between, suburban mom nightmare moments.

sidebar first: one of the teachers at my daughters school has decided to take a position elsewhere. this doesn't affect me directly, she teaches the kids younger than baby girl. but she was once my daughter’s teacher, so it affects me in that she has been one of the constant caregivers in my daughter’s life since she was 8 weeks old. she is a great teacher, she is a teacher that demands respect and gives it back to these kids, along with great amounts of affection. they love her and it is sad to see her go in that way that makes you sad when people come in and out of your life sometimes. knowing how loved my daughter has felt by her, it comforts me to know that other kids will get to know and be affected by this teacher's love.

moving on...i picked baby girl up a little early on the last day of work for said teacher. for those of you that have kids in daycare or school you know that any alteration in pick up or drop off time allows interaction with other parents that you don't normally get to see. so on this day i happened upon *sarah's mom. we walked to our cars together engaged in the light mom chatter of "so when are you having another one? baby girl just loves the little kids, i bet she'd love a little brother or sister"...i just love the added bonus pressure of random people trying to get me to procreate, don't you?

when we got to our cars the conversation then became something like this...

sarah's mom, "i'm so upset that said teacher is leaving. i just don't know how i feel about the other teachers and sarah's little sister is in that room now."

me, "i'm so sad that said teacher is leaving. baby girl has been with her since she was 8 weeks old."

sarah's mom, "i'm thinking about moving the girls. sarah will be going to kindergarten this year and we really have to think about after school programs."

me, "yeah i'm glad i've got another year to think about that."

sarah's mom, "we've had sarah on the waiting list at mecca for over a year now. we're still not sure if she's going to get in before she goes to kindergarten. do you have baby girl on the list yet?"

me, "uhhh.....no. (all the while thinking in my head, what the fuck is mecca?)" i believe i had that deer caught in headlights look about me as i really was ill prepared for such a sheer competitive, keeping up with the jones, car pooling, mini-van driving, suburban mom kind of question. until that moment, i really believed that i'd left that all behind in a little town in ohio somewhere...at least that's what i'd hoped.