Lunch in da hood


Some people go to priests; others to poetry; I to my friends. ~Virginia Woolf


Today I had a few people over for lunch. I invited one new friend when she said she felt like she didn't know many "normal" moms here. When she was recently around other Moms from our kids' school, she described the gathering as "like high school, and I'm not part of the popular clique. I guess I'm part of the geeky group."

I totally agree, especially about the women to whom she was referring.

I'm glad she's not part of this clique either! But I felt bad hearing this. I've been here six years, and met a ton of great people. I'm still meeting them.

I wanted her to see that not all BW moms are unwelcoming bitches! Mothering is not a competitive sport for all of us! We aren't all fixated on hair and nails! Nor are we all so overbearing that we smother our kids (even if it is meant with love). Yes, I LET MY DAUGHTER WALK TO SCHOOL! And I'm happy to say, my new friend lets her kids walk too, despite misunderstanding neighbors. My house is a mess (today the kitchen, living rooms/family room and entry were clean, the rest of the house? A disaster), but my door is always open if you don't mind my dirty dishes!

Not all the parents around our table agree with each others' parenting philosophy. Some are rather protective. Others extraordinarily permissive. Some are politically conservative. At least one is even more liberal than I am. There are differences in wealth, educational level, religions, race, marital status... even gender (one brave stay-at-home Dad joined us), and probably lots of other things as well!

But I hope that my friend learned that there ARE cool Moms in Bridgewater. Moms who don't judge one another, despite their differences. I'm fortunate enough to call them my friends.

One tip - I made this Cauliflower & Spinach Gratin from Wegman's Menu magazine. It was a big hit! If you make it, however, I'd use 1 1/2 times the amount of Cauliflower quoted in the recipe. I wanted to save a bit for T to taste (minus the spinach) but there was none left. I had tons of left overs of everything else...

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