We survived our first physics department holiday gathering with Trevor's new colleagues .. I feel like that makes us official. It was a pleasant enough evening, although we did have some hiccups.
Upon arrival, I asked Maxwell to please let me know if he needed to use the potty. Minutes later I heard Trevor make the same request. And just a few minutes later, after he had run off to join the other hyenas- I mean children, the hostess was telling me that my son had had an accident. Thank goodness for hardwood floors and understanding people who save their children's outgrown clothing and pull-ups. He spent the rest of the evening in some very fancy looking girls' jeans rolled up several times, a Spiderman t-shirt a couple sizes too big, and a pull-up that quite possibly was a decade old. Thankfully he is still young enough to not realize that what happened was something an older kid might be mortified over; instead after putting on his new outfit he just wanted to go show it off for everyone. I love that kid.
I was embarrassingly under-dressed. I should have known better than
to trust my husband who told me it was a "come-as-you-are party, I
think." If "I think" is in the sentence, then it's not based on
anything except his own wild guess. Next year I will be wearing my
finest holiday sweater and fancy shoes. The kids will be dressed as
matching elves.
I love how politically correct people are when meeting me, a professor's wife with a baby on her hip. "So what do you .. or .. do you .. um .. work outside the home?" One woman assured me that I would be more than ready to go back to work when the kids were both in school. "You won't know what to do with yourself!" Hmm, I guess we'll see. I sort of like the idea of being available for my children 24/7 .. just in case. You know? They get sick, and Trevor and I don't have to toss a coin to decide who has to miss work (not that a coin would be tossed .. but you know what I mean). One of the kid's classes needs 500 cupcakes for a bake sale-- who has time for that? The stay-at-home-mom whose kids are all in school, that's who. I'd like to be that mom, is that such a bad goal? Should I be setting my sights higher? I don't think so. But who knows how I'll feel in 3 years? And who knows if our budget can continue to work on one income? That's the real question.
So I certainly didn't meet any potential "mommy friends," but everyone was friendly and I didn't feel completely like a fish out of water. I really don't like these social things, but I told Trevor it "wasn't terrible." He beamed and said, "Well, that's a ringing endorsement coming from you!"
