Mommy Schmoozing

Lately it seems like my life has required a lot of "schmoozing". Technically speaking, this may not be the exactly right word to explain what I like to call "endless amounts of social chit chat with people you've just met or haven't seen in quite some time so you feel the need to get to know them all over again". However, it sounds right to me, especially when I'm doing it.

The favorite question always seems to be "well, what have you been doing all summer?". At which point, I sort of feel like I'm a giant balloon in the Macy's Day Parade and everyone is staring up at me, waiting for the correct answer, or waiting for the lines to break and me to cut loose.

I don't know what to say. I feel like even asking this is like asking a surgeon if he saved anyone's life. Maybe it is because my "work" doesn't bring home a paycheck. Maybe it's because I only have to stop for a minute with all this "schmoozing" before I can hear one of my kids jumping off of a dock to chase some ducks and I realize that I've left them unsupervised for too long. Maybe it is simply because I have decided recently (wow, that took me a long time) that summer is the busiest time of year, by far, for a stay-at-home mom, such as myself.

I used to look forward to "the lazy days of summer", because they were, just that. Lazy. But once your kids are a little older, in school and activities, summer becomes something else entirely. And since I believe that children need time to let their minds wander and imaginations run wild, I really try to avoid scheduling back to back camps or other enrichment programs during the summer because I strongly believe that they need a break. But in doing so, this means that they're with me, 24/7, when we're not out "doing stuff" or don't have any friends over.

Which means that I'm the camp counselor, and the lifeguard and the chaperon.

It's fine, but exhausting, and leaves me staring at the little white boxes on my calendar, counting on my fingers, figuring out exactly how many hours are left (638, give or take) until they resume their otherwise normally scheduled programming and return to the land of teachers and books.

So when someone at a party asks me what I've been doing all summer, what I really want to say is "are you kidding?". Now, onto something much, much more interesting, like "what is that you're drinking and where can I get me some?".

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On an entirely unrelated note, the lovely Mrs. Chicken bestowed upon me this award:

Maybe I am not so horrible at this "schmoozing" thing after all.

The strange thing is that I wrote the post 4 days ago . . . excuse me, I think I hear the Twilight Zone music playing.

And now, to share the love:

First, Becky from Becky's Blog, because she always has something nice to say, and you know how the saying goes . . . if you don't have something nice to say. . . she's a southern gal and her comments are always from the heart.

Second, to Annie, because her comments always make me laugh!

Third, to Jen, because although she's been awarded this, I want her to know how much I appreciate her wisdom.

And lastly to Mommy Off the Record, because she rocks contractions (which is sort of like schmoozing, isn't it?) and although she's about to have a baby and can't make it around to all of her favorite places, she's with us in spirit!