Mom-Me Versus Me-Me
It’s often said that “people don’t change.”
I don’t believe it, myself. True, boyfriends don’t change for their girlfriends, husbands don’t change for their wives (I suspect the opposite is also true), but people do evolve, develop, improve and the same principle works in negative ways too. I, for one, have changed a lot.
I used to be cool. It was more of an accidental coolness and it didn’t last very long. The Internet industry was hot, hot, hot, I was in the middle of it all and, it so happened, I was naturally geeky in an era when being geeky was the height of fashion. For a very brief period I knew where every place to be, was.
Now, I am a mother. I have a fading tattoo on my hip with stretch marks running through it. I face challenging choices brought on by my former self. Do I get the ink re-touched or do I just get the darn thing removed? I no longer have the income to go to the Elmwood for regular spa maintenance. And, with the aches and pains of pregnancy and delivery still troubling me, plus the safety issues of balancing a baby in my arms, I wear running shoes almost all the time.
There are women who manage to be mothers and maintain some semblance of hipness. An entire industry has sprung up that caters to hip mamas, yummy mummies and MILFs. I want to be part of the hot breeder phenom. It appeals to me on so many levels, but my personal energy management plan demands that I only spend time on things that I actually find important.
I bring this up because I am home. A friend of mine from high school came into town with her daughter to visit both her parents and my brood. She looked fantastic. She looked exactly the way she did in high school, retro-hip and elegant. And yet, motherhood has changed her too. She speaks to her daughter carefully, thoughtfully and with a benevolent authority that was never there when we were younger. And yet, in all her momness, there is an essential coolness, a street cred, a timeless with-it jazz cat mod girl.
So, I asked her where I can get some decent shoes that will let me carry a baby around, chase after a three year-old and still have a little style. Pulling on my running shoes every day is getting me down. Even I know there is a difference between frumpy-mummy and dumpy-mummy.
She recommended Blundstones and, I, am going shopping.
Tags: frumpy-mummy, hip-mama, MILFs, yummy-mummyRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Emotional Wellbeing
4 opinions for Mom-Me Versus Me-Me
Sarah
Mar 18, 2006 at 11:31 am
Fun! Shopping! Oh man ! That is the hugest motivator for me to get back into shape!!! New clothes! Walking back to the Mimi maternity last week to get nursing bras- we passed a rack of BCBG(my favourite fancy dress and clothes store!) and I positively drooled! Still a ways to go with the hips and butt - but getting there!!
Kate
Mar 18, 2006 at 2:49 pm
I wear Blundstones! You are on your way to being as hip as me! (Harhar).
Jill
Mar 19, 2006 at 5:05 am
I can so relate. I don’t know if I was ever exactly a hip cat to others, but I was in my old mind. I still can’t bear the thought of looking like (or being) a Soccer Mom. After I finished breastfeeding, and I lost the bulk of the baby weight, I went through the closet, threw out all trousers with elastic tops, and all overalls. Going back to work has helped — more in a grown up way than a hip way. And yesterday I went out and bought some proper bras, nice ones, pretty ones, for the first time since the babies were born. It’s a work in progress.
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Jan 3, 2008 at 8:03 am
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