Friday, February 8, 2008

Desperate Measures

Last night at a baby shower one of my new Carlsbad friends referred to me as "Supermom."

Excuse me? Were you referring to me? The frazzled, unshowered woman sitting across from you?

I might have been flattered if the term had actually been grounded in reality.

It happened when my gift was opened: a pair of white crocheted baby booties. Everyone oohed and aahed and passed the shoes around, which I was against. Because there were actually authentic crafters in the room who could rat me out as an imposter. And then my good friend Tanya was kind enough to mention that I'd started making them that very day. Traitor. [Yeah, well, do you know what else I did that day? Nothing. I slumped in the same spot on the couch amid piles of mail, toys, and smashed up popcorn while Grace climbed on my head and I held Claire in nursing position with my knee.] That's when I got accused.

"You Supermom... Is there anything you can't do?" MiYung asked with a degree of admiration and maybe annoyance.

This is coming from a woman I compare myself to a lot. I do this for mainly three reasons: 1) She keeps the books for her husband's pediatry clinic, 2) She keeps her home immaculate and beautifully decorated, and 3) She has been doing her dishes in the bathtub for the last two weeks, for lack of a kitchen sink. And she never whines. Okay, four reasons.

On the other hand, the only things MiYung knows about me is that I make booties, I bake bread, and I keep my monthly grocery budget to $100 (don't ask me how she knows that). She thinks those things are amazing. What she doesn't get is those things are necessities. Besides, the hundred dollar grocery budget means less produce and dairy. Which means fewer vitamins and nutrition. Which I'm pretty sure is the definition of not supermom.

But I do what I have to do. No more than that. Someday soon I will buy baby gifts made by someone else, and I will spend $400 a month on groceries without having a stroke. And then I will keep the house clean and decorated like MiYung.

8 comments:

  1. I am way impressed with that grocery total... produce or not! How do you do it?!

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  2. how do you do that babay booty thing? Totally impressed.

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  3. a hundred bucks a month?! elise, you have scurvy. i'm bringing you a truckload of oranges on my way to nevada. (can you wait a year and a half?)

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  4. You are supermom. I don't know if it's healthy or not, but a family of four eating on $100 per month is a huge talent.

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  5. Oh for Pete's sake. It is so not a talent, my friends. It's because we have to and because Heavenly Father blesses us.

    Jes: So that's why my fingertips are always bleeding. We'll hold out for you.

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  6. Elise, you are wonderful, and I don't care if you squirm inside the supermom title. I think you're amazing all the time and not only because you can knit baby booties and keep to a budget (yeah, I spent over that on Saturday at Walmart and it's just mike and i and a week of groceries...what's wrong with me?)--you're a super friend and a super match-maker (bless you) and a super mom and wife and writer and computer lady and baker, etc. Don't even get me started...

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  7. Elise, you are so funny! Yes, I am amazed at th $100 grocery budget, seriously, you need to tell us more about that one. Are you guys in school? Work? What's your current situation there... we're still in grad school so I understand the small budget thing, that's for sure! THanks for sharing your amazing writing, sense of humour and the beautiful person you are! I love you!

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  8. Elise,
    You are a wonderful mom, wife, friends, etc, etc, etc. I know you posted this a while ago, but well, I just now started accessing your blog. Never under estimate yourself. And don't try to compare - we are different and all amazing at our own things. It may be that they were jealous of your many talents and wish they could do the same things you can. No one really know the full details of other peoples lives.
    btw - where did you find your background. I have been looking for fun backgrounds for a while and can't find any I like.

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