The Diva Mommy

I went to the park today with the children. There is really a great park in town right in the neighborhood that my husband and I considered buying a home when we first moved here. We decided to rent until we really had a good idea how long we would be here; because, the economy is so dreadful.

At the park I was doing my average thing: trying to keep track of two running little boys who never seem to stay on the same side of this vast park while pushing Lyla in the stroller, stopping Nicholas from attempting to dive head-first off of the side of the large dinosaur sculpture, and diverting Jacob away from running in front of the moving swings. Average stuff. But, by far my favorite part of going to the park is mommy watching- checking out the latest hair styles and clothing attire for "cool" moms. That way, I can assess where I fall in the "mommy looks" department. Most of the time, I feel I am pretty average. I have a few things that I have skipped doing here and there because the children seem to take up so much time. I honestly frequently overlook the importance of some of these things because they do not directly pertain to my children. Most are pretty minor...I thought.

Well, my self-rating of "average" seemed to fall a few notches today as one mom walked in and sat down beside me on the bench. She was so trendy and hip. I tried to disguise the frown I probably had on my face when I first met eyes with hers. She looked a little older than me, but she was much more fashionable. She had short dirty-blond hair pulled back neatly in a low pony tail with a decorative headband crossing the front of her hair. She had a sun-kissed tan- not so dark that she looked as if she would have skin cancer by season's end, but just enough that it looked....well...perfect. She probably put on lotion too, since her skin didn't look all dry and flaky. (This is one of the things that is somewhat hard to manage here in the middle of the desert). The woman wore a long yellow casual-but-chic sundress, the fabric decorated in brown and off-white stripes. She wore a brown leather-strapped necklace that had on it a silver dollar- sized flat shiny round shell pendant. The mom had on brown leather braided sandals that seemed to match so perfectly with her hippy-esque ensemble. The glamour mom was even wearing makeup- perfectly, no smudges! I bet she even took a shower! What the heck?! I need to pump up my game, I thought.

OK, you have to use your imagination here.

The Diva Mommy:

Hair, sunglasses and looks like this

Wearing a dress like this

After I decided it was time for us to depart and head home for lunch, I one more time glanced in the Mommy Diva's direction. I was jealous. I want to be a Mommy Diva. I aspire to look so good while still being a good mom. That woman made it look so easy. I better get busy.

For right now, I am an "average mommy". I squeeze in shower time sometime during the day; unfortunately, it is not always before going to sweat in the 95 degree park with my children. Getting my hair highlighted is about three months over due. I have prickly legs from not shaving every day anymore. I do shave my underarms everyday though- but mainly because I fear people will notice that more often and gag in my direction if I had long hair there. I have dry skin, as lotion just seems to take so much time when I have a baby screaming in the other room demanding my attention. I wear clothes from years and years ago because I have not made the time to get myself new ones. I rarely wear big fashionable jewelry. I always wear flip flops. Gosh! I have a lot to work on! But I aspire to be a Diva Mommy none-the-less. I am determined to get there- it just may take a while.