Sisterhood46

On Tuesday a 15 year old cross country runner got hit by a minivan. Everyone had an opinion about it!  My take is that drivers in Westport think they are superheroes. Everyone here thinks they can drive a car, text, speak on the phone and yell at their kids in the back sit all at once and still get from point A to point B without hurting anyone! Today I was behind a car that had a bumper sticker that really spoke to me. It read "Put the phone down and no one will go hurt." I loved it and instantly wanted one for my car. Two seconds later I saw the driver of the car not only look down at her phone to read a text, as she was pulling away, but she put on her glasses because she couldn't read the text, as she was driving.  There you have it in a nutshell, why none of us are safe on the roads of Westport. 

This morning at around 8:01am I thought I heard a collective sigh of relief in Westport.  I'm pretty sure that it came from all of the mothers who got their kids off to their first day of school! Of course we'll miss those lazy summer days with our cherubs but let's be honest, having a few hours of silence will be nice won't it? Be honest! It's nice to get a break! How are you going to spend your first day?

For me and many other city girls there are two uber symbols of suburbia: the minivan and the soccer mom. When I moved here three years ago, my husband rented a minivan for my trip from the city to our new house in Westport. I cried so hard and my reaction was so violent, that he promptly cancelled the reservation and got me an SUV instead. The minivan has never come up again.  ( I know, I know it's the most practical vehicle for families, it's my personal mental limit) Fast forward three years...I am a soccer mom. How did this happen to a city girl you ask? How did this happen to me I ask? Well future suburban moms beware, it happens in a flash! Here's how it happened to me. Your kid is born into a Spanish family that lives and breathes soccer. In fact, his first uniform is given to him at birth. He innocently plays soccer in the park with his dad. He takes the cute pre-school soccer classes in Central Park. He gets into Kindergarten and joins the local ...

Tropical storm Irene has brought an early start for fall clean up.....which means it's the start of hours and hours of my most hated noise in suburbia the #@#$ leaf blower! You know the folks out here love their lawns to look as though they lived in TV land so it's a sin to have one leaf lying on your lawn or around your flowers. You know it's all about convenience out here so it's a minority of us who actually rake and put the leaves in a bag....and then while we work we have to listen to the incessant buzz of leaf blowers. Of course because the majority of people use them it means that when one stops another one begins and before you know it you've spent your entire weekend "in the country" listening to leaf blowers! My neighbor's leaf blower started at 8:30 this morning and it's hasn't stopped since! (not an exactly efficient tool) I wish I could make it stop. But I can't so I'll just close the windows :(

Thanks to hubby, yesterday was my best day in Suburbia EVER! I've always dreamed of driving a race car and yesterday that's just what I did! For my birthday hubby enrolled me an introduction to racing class and I got to drive a real race car, all by myself. It was exhilarating, exciting, scary, challeng and the most fun I've had in CT. I can't thank hubby enough (and the kids who were awesome on the 4 hour drive). "Mom, did you like your surprise?" In heaven "I can't believe this is actually happening!" "Remember knees together if you spin out in a turn." "I can reach the pedals. All good." Yeap! I was the only city girl there :)

Before I even had a chance to catch up and tell you how amazing and awesome our summer in Europe was and how depressed I am to be back, I've been pushed back into the suburban life. It all started this morning when the kids next door ran down the street screaming we know who are teachers are for the year! It's posted! Have you checked? Two seconds later I'm sitting in front of the screen trying to login into my parent account (needless to say my username and password have been erased from my memory!). And the results are in.... Son #2 gets assigned an awesome teacher who is a perfect fit for him, she loves science, he loves science. Son #1 gets assigned a teacher with a reputation for screaming and putting down his students in front of the whole class...a horrible fit for my son who is super affected by screamers and needs a whole lot of positive encouragement in order to do his best. My first reaction was to call hubby and share my concern and sadness. My second r...

If you move to the burbs, you're number one priority to should be to meet similar minded women. It's taken me a while but over the last two years I've become friends with some wonderful women who have similar family commitments, similar outlooks and values and who have become my indispensable girlfriend network. When life throws you a curve ball it's so much easier to handle when you have a network. A couple of weeks ago both my kids got sick with a contagious virus which of course declared itself at 8:00PM at night. The next morning at 8:30 both hubbie and I were expected at a school meeting we couldn't cancel. I texted a girlfriend, explained my situation. First she offered to take my two sick kids for the morning even though she has two of her own. I refused. Then she kindly called her babysitter and arranged for her to be at our house by 8:00AM the next morning! Life saver. Last night, son #1 announced that he had his end of year presentation today at 2:30....