Tight Around the Collar

I live in a small town.
I grew up in a largish suburb.
I like very much that wherever my kids go, it's likely some other adult type person I know (and like) is there too.
Which means I get a constant stream of information about what my kids are up to when I'm not with them.
I find this comforting in a Big Brother sort of way.
Since I am the Big Brother.
I, however, very much prefer my anonymity.
These two contradictory truths are not really compatible unless I never leave my house.
Which would be okay with me.
I never knew how much of a homebody I was until I created a happy home of my own.
Grocery home delivery is one of my favorite things from the '90's that didn't seem to make a big splash in the new millennium.  Homegrocer.com anyone?

This is the last week of our Christmas Break from school.  I live in a conservative small town, so we do still call it a Christmas Break as opposed to a Winter Break.  Since we're Christmas celebrators it doesn't bother me.  I'm not sure how I'd feel if we weren't .  I imagine it might bug me.

Well, because it's our last week, and because we were all bored out of our minds, I voluntarily left the house, to do something fun.  Like lunch and bowling.  And we did have ourselves a mighty good time.  They bowled and I embarrassed them by hootin' and hollerin' - their own personal cheering section.  And then....we spotted someone we try to, uh, avoid, in our little town.  I know that doesn't sound nice, but there it is just the same.  I don't know what to do about it, but it sure reminds me of junior high.  Anyhow, since we were done with our 3 games, we just studied the tacky art on the opposite wall of the bowling alley, managed to walk by unnoticed, and hightailed it out of there.  But the fear.  The agony.  The big What If.  As in...What If they had been assigned the lane next to us...and I had been forced to be nice?  Not saying what was really on my mind? That takes a lot of energy.  And I think we've more than covered my lazy streak in the last couple of weeks.

As if that wasn't enough, we proceeded to see 2 more people at the grocery store.  One...a nice neighbor and friend, a quick hello, reminding me what I like about residing in our tiny little corner of the world.  But then...Somebody Else.  Totally unavoidable.  We were on top of her before we could walk away.  Believe me, I have been known to hide out in the business form aisle of Staples to 'miss' bumping into someone.  It was as though I was being punished for happily staying home in my jammies so much in the last 2 weeks.  This was a nice woman with whom I used to be in a homeschooling group.  And then the group imploded.  Though we were both innocent bystanders of the implosion, we ultimately ended up on opposite sides of the wreckage.  So it was kind of awkward right there in check stand lane 4.  I wish it hadn't been.  But it was.  And I'm pretty sure she wasn't any more excited about running into us either.  Yes, we survived it, but it made me a little sad.  It made me wish for our big group that is no more.  Aw well, such is life.

Tomorrow, we are headed out again. Up the mountain, to the plentiful snow, with my sister-in-law (hi Karie!), nephew and niece.  I think my anonymous self should be safe.  Because...a - we'll be out of town a good ways, b- it's a weekday and c - I'll have the security blanket of reinforcements with me.

I'm not really as neurotic as that all might seem.  I think it's just that even after a full decade of living here,  I continue to totally lack the skills necessary for living in a little everyone-knows-everything-about-everyone- and-their-mama kind of small town.  Is there a guidebook?  Some cliff notes?  Can you help me out?  Because really, the business form aisle of Staples is not ever on my agenda. I mean, I'm surely breaking rule #1 just by blogging about this right?  I can't help myself...

On an entirely different note, my husband thinks the Perfect Car for our daughter is a light blue 1986 Oldsmobile station wagon....which I find totally hilarious.  And she finds totally mortifying.  So maybe it is perfect.  I love my girl.  And my husband.

xoxo
~S