The Granolas

Wow, will you look at that?! Twice in less than a month! Here I sit, at the computer, while the boys are cleaning up the playroom. It was another very long day, but a satisfying one. Andrew, one of my 22 month old twins, and I went to Kindermusik today. Andrew started speech therapy last week due to his inability or unwillingness to utter any words other than 'dada,' 'no,' and 'hi.' (On the good-news front, he did say 'penis' during bathtime tonight.) The speech therapist signed us up for this class because she thought it might help him to be around other kids his age. I guess the fact that he has been with another 'kid his age' since conception doesn't count. Anyway, the class was this morning and I figured we'd give it a whirl. If for no other reason than that I NEVER get to do something with just one of the twins like this. I don't even get to go to the grocery store with just one twin. So I thought Andrew would get a kick out of being the 'one and only' with Mommy for an hour.

When we arrived, a bunch of barefaced women wearing wool sweaters and Tevas with socks were sitting around discussing the trials of cloth diapers and 'babywearing.' I was in full makeup, slacks and a cardigan. They looked at me and smiled and we made polite small talk until class started. I must say, I judged them pretty quickly. They were Granolas. Which is not necessarily a negative thing. I just am not one of 'them.' Granolas are the moms who walk everywhere, wear their babies in a hard-to-wind sling until they're 3, breastfeed graphically in public (also until the child is near 3.) They wear the aformentioned Tevas year-round usually with cargo pants or cargo shorts, weather-permitting. They don't wear makeup, they use cloth diapers, they buy organic. These are the moms who made me feel like crap for not making my own baby food, giving up on breastfeeding before my kids were in kindergarten, and ruining the Earth with my giant minivan. I figured we would have nothing in common. My experience with the Granolas hasn't been entirely positive. Usually I find myself feeling terribly inadequate, feeling overdressed, feeling like I have somehow cheated my children by giving them store-bought baby food and formula. I was prepared for the worst.

BUT... I was pleasantly surprised. One of the little girls started to throw a huge tantrum in the middle of the class. We're talking a huge, on the floor, kicking, screaming, snot-all-over meltdown. As this was happening, I saw on her mother's face the same thing I feel when one of my kids do something similar. She was embarrassed and at a loss for what to do. I felt an immediate kinship to her; usually it's my kid who's throwing the fit. After the class, the Granolas and I sat around and chatted. They had the same problems with their kids that I struggle through with mine. (In spite of the cloth diapers and gluten-free diets.) They weren't looking down their noses at me in my man-made fiber clothing. They were genuinely interested in me and Andrew. They were all without words, mouths hanging open for a bit when I told them that I had 5 kids. Then they all told me how I didn't look old enough to have 5 kids. :-) Maybe the Granolas aren't so bad after all!