I survived the banquet. And I didn’t even throw up on anyone! (Yay me!) Actually, I wasn’t really afraid of speaking in public. I am all about that. Give me a room of people and I can talk without any problem. Stick me one on one with people I am uncomfortable with, well, then you have the whole throwing up issue to deal with. (Although, really, wouldn’t that be the ultimate parting gift? I bet they’d never forget me!)
So, the best way to describe it is to compare it to having to go out to dinner with someone you broke up with and their best friends. Yep. It was just that much fun. (Thankfully, I went with a friend on the executive board who is great…not a PTA MM that I have known since Kidlet Sr. was in kindergarten. She is awesome! We aren’t close, but we socialize together now and then.)
Let me set the scene. We get there and most of our table has arrived. I look longingly at the other table and wish I was over there. (Table with the teachers and staff. Those people I can relate to.) There is the awkward small talk to start off things. Then we go to eat. After we start eating one of the PTA-MMs (PTA Militant Moms) turns to me and says,
“So, what is this I hear about you moving? You’re going back to college? Like with all of the 20 year olds?” (Imagine the snidest, most condescending tone you can. That was her.)
I reply, “Well, yes. I went to A&M before and we both loved the town. I think it will be great to finish up there.”
“And it’s because your husband has been out of work for…how long was it? 2 years?…Goodness.” (Again the tone.)
Now really, in most cases, I would rip someone a new one for talking to me this way. At the least, they would get quite a tone back. I sat for a moment. It was one of those moments where I realized that I had 2 choices. I could reply to her in the tone she was using and humiliate her (trust me, I can do it without blinking and eye) or I could choose not to become like her and just realize she is not worth it. I chose something in between. She got a look that pretty much said, “Are you seriously acting like a junior high child or am I imagining it?”
Then (godbless her), my friend pops up from beside me.
“You read her email. She is going back to school to get her teaching certificate. I think she is a helluva a lot braver than any of us sitting here in our little comfort zone spending all of our time doing the same old same old. She is going out and making major life changes so that she can not only make a difference in general, but make a difference in her family. I wish I was that brave.”
*silence*
Of course, at that moment, I suddenly had to use the bathroom. (Okay, I had to cry, but you better swear not to tell anyone that!) When I got back, I did what I always did when I was a kid and the other girls were acting like rotten snots, I went to hang out with the adults. (The teachers I adore.) Then, I had a great time.
Oh, and as for giving the awards, it turns out I didn’t have to. They changed the format and they had “Readers” read summaries we wrote and I only went up there and hugged them when they got their award. (Yes, I admit it. I am a hugger!)
Thanks for your support. All I can say I am SO glad it is over. Buhbye, PTA Militant Moms.
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