So, what’d you do last night?
Uh-hum…yeah…really? Interesting.
Me? I went to a baby shower.
Here’s Ali, the mom-to-be.
Isn’t she cute? Baby-to-be is a girl and will be child number six.
Ali has two bio-sons and three adopted daughters. Incidentally, she found out he was getting the last two girls (biological sisters) the same day she found out she was pregnant. Wow.
Want to know how Ali and I met? It’s a cute story.
Okay, so I went to her baby shower last night, looked for a pregnant lady and introduced myself.
Yup, I went to a shower without knowing the mom-to-be.
In fact, I did not know a single other person there, but I did get to know the buffet pretty quickly.
No, I never did see Wedding Crashers, why do you ask?
Actually, I was an invited guest. The shower was thrown by iVillage and momtourage.com to celebrate Ali and the people she counts on to help her be a better mom. I was invited through BlogHer.
And though I did not know a single person there, I quickly glommed onto met Amanda from mandajuice and spent the evening trying not to start every sentence with “um” or “duh”. That’s how brilliant I am.
This is us with Diane (on the left), an editorial director from iVillage.
Please notice Diane and Amanda’s cute little dresses, compared to my jean capris. If I had a middle name, it would probably be Classy.
My underdressedness (not a real word) and inarticulateness (this one is a real word: look it up) aside, Amanda and I somehow managed to have a very engaging conversation. We flitted from topics as varied as school systems, growing tomatoes, the failing mortgage market, and the use of Valium. Even the word “vagina” cropped up in our conversation a couple of times. (Apologies to my husband and mother. Just be assured we were not talking about mine. Or hers, for that matter. Does that make it better, or worse?)
All in all, I had a very nice time.
And it got me thinking: who is in my momtourage?
My husband, of course, who works very hard so I can be the kind of mom I want to be, who loves me more than I deserve, and who believes that I can do anything.
My best friends, Janalyn and Laura. I depend on them so much. Even when I was living 3000 miles away from them, we still spoke almost daily. For three years. That’s true friendship.
And though we left him behind in Maryland, I’d still like to include my daughter’s pediatrician: Dr. Stern. I can’t count the number of times he opened his clinic on a Saturday or Sunday morning, just for her. And not only did he give us his home number, but he also gave us his cell phone number and insisted we call him anytime day or night. Even when he was on vacation. I miss him…a lot.
Who else?
Target for always being there for me when I need something. Or, more often, when I just want something.
All of the teenage babysitters we’ve employed throughout the years, ‘cuz mama needs her grown-up date nights.
And you, my faithful internet. You’re here even when my jokes fall flat, when I decide not to post every day, and when your comments go unanswered (but never unappreciated).
Wow, that’s quite a crowd.
I’m just that much of a diva, I guess.
Somebody get me an Evian and a bowl of M&Ms with all the orange ones picked out.
And make it snappy.
Who is in your momtourage?
