I only do pick up once a week so I look forward to it and yet it can be awkward sometimes. An observer would think it’s all very casual and it usually is, except on Wednesday when I’m trolling for a playdate. The suburbs require planning, planning a working mother, like me doesn’t always have time for. So when I stand alone, away from a group of mom already deep in conversation its the same feeling I have when I’m standing alone at a cocktail party and start to admire family photographs because I have nothing better to do.

It’s not embarrassing until Conrad rushes out of the building and asks: who do I have a playdate with today? I say Mommy! And Conrad’s face falls and he bursts into tears, “I wanted a playdate with a friend!”

“I know bug,” I say, “but not today” and then he runs off and plays with someone for a bit. This whole scenario makes me miss the park life of Brooklyn where he could show up with our babysitter and have a playdate with ten kids.
Living in the city allows you to live more spontaneously. Out here you trade a yard for having to think ahead. By Wednesday we’ve run out of food and in Conrad’s mind, friends.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 at 11:16 pm and is filed under My weekly essay, Random acts of mothering. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.