Once again, Friday morning found us screaming to gymnastics, racing against the clock. Why I can never seem to get it together is a mystery.
I watched in the rearview mirror as MP, sitting in her carseat, waived to a homeless man holding a ‘God Bless’ sign (“Mommy! We forgot to give him money!”), blissfully unaware that we were, yes, late again.
Seven minutes later, and we’re running through the gym’s double doors, bursting into a class already in progress.
The Track Mommies turn to look, in unison.
The Track Mommies are everything I am not. The Track Mommies have it together. The Track Mommies are on time. She of the salon tan and designer track suit. Of the mani and the pedi and the blinding diamond ring signifying the perfect marriage to a successful provider. She of the perfectly coiffed hair – pulled tightly into a low pony to give the illusion of ’sporty’ low maintenance.
The Track Mommies quiet as we quickly shuffle to MP’s cubby. I feel their eyes on our backs – me, freshly showered with wet hair peeking from beneath a ball cap, and MP … oh yes … in a dragon costume. Did I forget to mention this?
After peeling the endless layers atop her unitard, MP gleefully ran to join her group. I walked back to the parents area, and settled into a good vantage point. (Perhaps I’m old fashioned, but I actually ENJOY watching my child crabwalk and sommersault …) The Track Mommies, meanwhile, have turned back to their conversations, their cell phones and their lattes.
I can only wonder what truly goes on in the lives of the Track Mommies. I know all too well, looks can be (and in my experience, usually are) deceiving. As I watch MP from my perch – dancing around and looking like she’ll pee her pants any second – I can’t help but be proud of our little party of two. And I silently pledge to let her wear that goofy dragon suit whenever and wherever she wants.
And to never, ever buy her a track suit.
Kimberley Clayton Blaine, also known as 
12 Comments
February 23, 2008 at 2:44 pm
I love the dragon suit! I love that she’ll wear it everywhere. That’s awesome.
February 23, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Yes! Married track mommies are weird. I wouldn’t trade being a single mom for anything…
February 24, 2008 at 9:29 pm
I totally know the Track Mommies.
Their mascot is the Lexus SUV.
NOT that there’s anything wrong with that.
February 24, 2008 at 9:50 pm
YES!! Motherhood as a fashion statement.
Paris has her chihuahua …
I’m just sayin’.
April 20, 2008 at 6:54 pm
How about when one of your best, good friends is a Track Mommy?
I always seem so *behind* when I hang with her, and I know she doesn’t mean it, but it happens. I can’t even explain it, but I bet you know what I mean.
This post is super touching, though. And I always love watching my son’s every move when it classes such as those, too. Some moms seem to just use them as a social hour to chat with other moms.
April 20, 2008 at 7:31 pm
I DO know what you mean … hard NOT to feel behind with the TMs …
April 21, 2008 at 9:04 am
I like to do both…chat with Mommies while watching my girl. But the track mommies sound very snobby…that’s never cool.
May 23, 2008 at 8:45 pm
[...] didn’t really make sense, did it?), but go to MommyPie and you’ll see what I mean. This post had me at the first two sentences, because it was so relatable. This one cemented the deal for my [...]
May 24, 2008 at 5:12 am
holy stinkin’ cow. it’s not just me! i will never be a track mommy. and i too, am always the one who pulls up next to the hummers and other assorted suv’s, an outsider among the perfectly coiffed. if they’re track mommies, what are we called, other than normal?
May 24, 2008 at 7:16 am
[...] Sorry, I can’t point to a single post. I was just hooked. Maybe because she’s not a Track Mommy. I so get that! And maybe because she’s so witty and somehow puts words on paper that are [...]
May 26, 2008 at 10:50 am
Jumped over from SanDiegoMomma. LOVE this. You just made me feel so much less inadequate that my hair doesn’t even make a “low pony” and my sweatshirts never match my freakin’ sweatpants.
Dragon suit in gym. Perfect. Like my son wearing a pink boa to school. Deal. With. It.
January 26, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Again, missed this post. My girl was Tigger, thats T, I double ggg errr for over a year. I’m with yah!