Seeing How The Other Half Lives

A thousand apologies for my blog absence. Since Grandma's passing, and funeral, I just haven't felt up to it. I had my lap top with me the whole trip, in case inspiration hit, but...nothing.

Today, though, I'm feeling a little more myself. So I thought I'd share some of my experiences on my recent trip to the True North Strong and Free.

Living where I do in the actual "garden" part of the Garden State, motherhood can be a little different than the experiences of other mommies. This past week, I got to see how the other half lives. Well, the other third. Rural Mommy got to experience a little of Suburban Mommy's experience. (Urban Mommy is a whole other experience.)

There are a couple of things I'm terribly jealous of. Like parks. How awesome to be able to walk to a park. Rural Mommy can drive 2o minutes and get to a park. But it's just not the same.

We took serious advantage of the proximity of a great park to my parents' house. This is Uncle D, helping Wiggle Man down the slide.

Wiggle Man and I got to experience a Mommy and me swim time at a local pool. How great is that? Three dollars and a change room filled with mommies and kiddies later, we were in a pool swarmed with people. Wiggle Man wasn't used to all that chaos, so we headed to a less crowded part of the pool. Eventually, though, he settled down and spent a long time carefully pouring water from one toy watering pot to another.

This is cool stuff, people.

After that, lunch at McDonald's (grilled cheese and apple slices for Wiggles, nuggets and apple slices for Mommy) and then Wiggle Man spent a loooonnnng time playing in the play park. I was a little envious of the camaraderie among those in the "mommy circuit." Rural mommies generally don't have a "mommy circuit."

All this comparison got me thinking. There's a lot to be said for Suburban Mommies, and, while I'd love to join their ranks, Rural Mommy has her moments, too. Rural Mommy can take her kids to feed the chickens, or watch the ducks swim in the stream.

Like I said, Rural Mommy has her moments.