Joys of Single Motherhood

Most of the time I don't mind being a single mother that much. I don't have to cook dinner if I don't want to--usually the kids don't really want anything anyway. I can cook when I want. I don't have to pick up my room and I don't have to make my bed. The times I feel most out of place and most alone are when I have to appear at a school function. By myself. This is a high-brow town where most mothers stay home and most men have Alpha jobs. The couples generally seem very happy even though I'm sure many aren't. It doesn't matter though because at least they're couples. They're both concerned about their kid, both concerned about school matters. And they're not alone.

I wish I still had a flat stomach. More importantly, I wish I had the desire to work hard enough to get that flat stomach back. But I don't. Not consistently that is. A year or so ago--probably more like 3 years--I summoned the will power to "get it back". And I did mostly. But now I'm 50 and with age comes a bit of wisdom. It's really not that important in the general scheme of things. Today is the second day of school and Kid 2 has not yet announced his intention to drop out. When I said this kiddingly at Starbucks this morning, another mother expressed horror that I would even say such a thing....let alone think it, I guess. In this town, every kid is above average--just like Lake Woebegone--and every kid is going to Harvard. At least Kid 2 has a flat stomach. And he still sometimes comes up with the funniest bits unintentionally. Yesterday, he asked, "Mum, how come they say 'almond' at the end of that prayer you say before you eat?" I though