Friday, March 26, 2010

My little green (black) book overfloweth

It's easy to meet people these days.  All you need is a stroller, preferably with a baby in it.  But in Toronto, that's an optional extra.  Here, pretty much anything goes, and no one bats an eyelid.  Ever since LGO came on to the scene and I moved back to (Canuckian) soil, my social life has picked up enormously.  That has to be a paradox, right?  Sure, the highlight of most evenings with the little one asleep upstairs, consists of a long bath and/or curling up on the sofa with Mr Green to watch Mad Men or -- if that isn't quite bleak enough for our tastes -- Durham County, which is about as bleak as it gets.  My daytimes, on the other hand, are booming with play dates and park meets, through which I've met some true kindreds I likely wouldn't have met otherwise.  On the flip side, I've also met countless other women, women with whom the only commonality is possession of a birth canal through which something so huge travelled, it defied the laws of gravity and sanity to do so. 

But I'm digressing...  Lately my black book is teeming with phone numbers and emails from such chance encounters.  It's like dating, except I was never the type to own a Rolodex.  It's like being a lesbian, without the lesbianism.  I'll come home and Mr G will say, just to make me feel cheap: 'So, who did you pick up in the park today?'  But I know deep down he's just jealous (and secretly hoping for said lesbianism).  Really, it's all too easy talking to strangers.  I'd even go so far as to say it's an occupational hazard of the stay-at-home mom.

Sometimes, though, the easy camaraderie can backfire.  As in back draft.  Usually it starts (and often, mercifully, ends) by the swings.  You and Stranger Mommy exchange dull factoids, such as your tots' respective names and ages.  Other times she'll avoid pleasantries altogether, and dive straight for the jugular, telling you in the blink of a weepy eye about her many miscarriages.  Or worse.  You'll get to talking about teething and what products you use to help little one cope.  Innocuous enough, you say.  Next thing you now Stranger Mommy starts telling you how her ex used to apply the tingly, mildly numbing stuff to his doo-dah "so he could last longer".  Oral Gel.  I'll never think of it the same way, and now you won't, either. So there.

For all the weirdness, I love these chance encounters with fellow moms.  I love the sisterly fraternizing that very occasionally develops into real friendships.  Lately, I have been urging Mr Green to take LGO out on a Saturday morning, to court some dads.  After all, if babies are proven chick magnets, no doubt they must also be d*ck magnets.  And in the bizarre and uncompromising land that is parenthood, one thing is for sure: you need all the friends you can get.

12 comments:

  1. following from mbc/fff. although i do product reviews and giveaways I offer expert level articles on natural health, herbs, oils etc. we believe in balance and harmony and write on topics that bring that about and then feature companies and products that support that.

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  2. I love the TMI (too much information) moms, mainly because my life is so boring. But Oral Gel?

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  3. Haha!
    I remember the Oral Gel story as I was with you.
    Thanks for reminding me....

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  4. Bahahaha that's hilarious... and so awkward! Why would anyone think that's appropriate playground banter?!?!? Some people's mothers!


    Following you from FFF/MBC! Can't wait for more stories!

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  5. That's hysterical! I'm a FT working mommy so I miss the afternoon park adventures but, I schedule different actvities for the little one and I at Gymboree or similar facilities and the atmosphere is the similar. Lol!

    Following from MBC (FFF Group)
    You can find me at
    http://www.jaelcustomdesigns.com

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  6. Hi. I am a new follower, visiting from FFF @ MBC.
    http://goyay.blogspot.com/

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  7. wow interesting conversation. I'm following from MBC.

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  8. I am your new follower from MBC (FFF) my blog is http://showmemama.blogspot.com/ come by when you get a chance! You have a great blog. I will check back frequently.

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  9. Very entertaining :D

    Now following you from MBC.

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  10. Ah- I have yet to meet random moms at the park or mall. I really need to get out more! It's just now getting nice outside and I can't wait to encounter the TMI mom, the Weepy mom, the Snobby mom, and the Kindred Spirit mom.

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  11. Hi Julie! Welcome to the FFF Club!

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  12. Love reading your blog! I am a new follower from FFF at Mom Bloggers Club, so glad to have found you! Hope you have a great day!

    Eloise
    Mommy2TwoGirls
    http://mommy2twogirls.blogspot.com/

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