Confession: I am the crunchy, Birkenstock wearing mom.
I don't know how this persona got attached to me. Well, except that I do babywear, breastfeed, and wear Birkenstocks. But, other than that I have no idea. It really pisses me off actually. Not the actual image of me, but that we always feel the need to label people. This is the label that time after time has been attached to me. Is there any truth to it? I'd like to think not, at least not to the hippy-dippy part, but if people keep perceiving me this way, I guess there must be.
I have a friend who is the 'miserable guy'. That is his persona. He's the guy with extremely bad luck. He's the guy who seemingly almost always has (justifiable) stuff to complain about. He is the king of Murphy's Law. He sounds miserable most of the time. And if you don't already know him, chances are after meeting him once, you may not want to. He is my friend and I personally love him dearly, but this is his persona.
I feel as though we all have one. A way in which we are perceived by others. It reminded me of an episode of 'Friends'. Yeah, yeah, I watch 'Friends'. Shut up. It's a great show. Anyway, Ross is getting a divorce from Rachel after they accidentally got married in Vegas. Ross is upset that he is about to be divorced for the third time. Phoebe says to him something like "oh, that is going to be your thing. You're going to be the guy that gets divorced." And just like that, that is his thing. He's the 3 times divorced guy.
My hair used to be my thing. It was really long and wildly curly and reddish and out of control. It was how people identified me for years. Asked to describe me, people would first describe my hair. It was also the way you could pick me out of a huge concert crowd from a distance. Yes, it actually happened many, many times. But somehow as my hair changed and became more mom-like (shorter, straighter, grayer) my persona changed to. And now here I am stuck as the off-beat mom. The kinda hippieish, maybe a little flighty, doesn't want to go shop for Coach bags mom.
Am I happy with this persona? The jury is still out. But, I guess it could be worse. I could be the miserable guy.
What is your public persona? Dare to share?
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Who are you? (who who)
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22 comments:
If you asked my family, I would be the loud one, or the one who has to keep moving, like I get somewhere and I am ready to leave and go somewhere else.
I'm different things depending whom you are talking to. To my friend M I'm the smart one she always asks stuff to.
To my friend K I'm the great mom of two with the great style.
To everyone else I think I might be the fat one who talks all the time.
Most people say I'm the unlucky one -- disabled husband with all sorts of issues, had 2 ministrokes and real stroke myself... I think I'm blessed. Hub got out of the corporate rat race -- yeah, the medically disabled retirement at 47 sucked but we got a LIFE. He was working and traveling so much we never saw him. As far as my issues? Hey, I got my speech back and have very few residuals except when I'm tired. So I think it's really all a matter of how ya look at things.
Goodness...good question...for years I was known as the wild child...now that I have been a mom for some time and have enough kids, I am known as "the mom"..."the one that loves kids"...always taking in extra kids or people in general...yes, I do love kids but honestly there are times I want to be away from kids...that I want to be something other than "mom".
People just assume my patience is endless or that I have all the answers for parenting and my gawd I don't!
Great post!
i'm guilty of being a birkenstock wearing mom as well!
i like this blog, just found it :]
check out mine! hehe.
-Angela!
Probably the moody mom who shops exclusively at Target. That's me!
Who am I depends on who you ask. I am the annoying, green know-it-all smart mama - the one you ask how toxic is this product and I rattle off the answer, whether or not you really wanted to know. But, I am also the mama who likes to throw fabulous birthday parties (not expensive fabulous, crafty fabulous with yellow sponges for invitations to the Sponge Bob theme birthday, or invitations in a bottle for the pirate birthday) or the always ready for a beer, BBQ mama, bring all the kids and grandma too, or the slightly wild, nothing is too much information wife. But who do I think I am? I am the I could just get it all done if I could actually find my keys & wallet, the I'll-get-organized tomorrow if I can get it all done today, want to save the world but can't get the evidence of spilled McDonald's milkshake out of my minivan so how green can I be, love my husband & kids soccer mom.
Oh! And I'm giving away a Wii and Wii Fit on my website.
Jennifer
www.thesmartmama.com
interesting question! i have no idea what people would see my persona as...I was worried when i was pregnant I was perceived in public as the pregnant teenager even though is was 28. lol!! i look(ed) really young for my age and hated it. Think i'm starting to miss it now...hey! i got carded a few months ago...i did! lol
Michelle, are you making fun of my Birks and backpack stuffed with baby supplies?
Yeah, that would be me.
Fun post...
I would say I am the comfy clothes wearing, thankful I got to shower today, Oh, please anything but, Dora..usually a few minutes late, but lots of fun mom.
I linked to you through Classy Mommy...love your blog.. I'll be back
Fellow Philly Mommy blogger
hello there..
Thanks for the comments.
A little follow up: I just had to ask a few of my very non-crunchy type freinds what they thought of this whole thing. They almost all agreed that they do not think I am flaky or flighty or anything like that. They all pretty much said that they would describe my persona as "the laid back, down to earth mom type." I can totally live with that.
I'm known as the "hippie" mom to my friends, too. I had a homebirth. I breastfed both my kids for 1.5 years or more. I'm active in the non-vaccinating culture. However, I own 5 Coach purses (and adore them), I let my kids eat McDonalds all the time, and dont recycle....so I dont know what the hell my friends are thinking! To the REAL cruchy moms I know- I'm the makeup wearing, carbohydrate eating potty mouth. It's all relative I guess. :P
Well this is so funny I just got done a post all about the me I am once was and will become. It was my cheap therapy on my own perception of myself. So come check it out I think I am to peculiar and complex for a comment post! Hope you come for a visit. I am friends with many of the philly mommy bloggers and hope to be one soon! Please leave a comment. Its sad but I am in 2 competitions and could win a prize for the most new comments. Thanks for your help!
I imagine I'm generally the crunchy one too, at least within most circles that I run in. It's interesting though that every so often I find that I am the mainstream mom, like at an LLL meeting or something, because I don't ALWAYS wear the baby or because I did start with rice cereal instead of a veggie. Guess it depends on who I'm with sometimes.
Saw your message on the Philly moms board and really enjoy your blog. You know, Colleen, Jo-Lynne, and I have been discussing plans for a Philly Mom bloggers group blog. We're sort of getting the group together right now, but Colleen has already spoken to the woman who manages the site that hosts the other cities. Interested?
love your site! so glad i found you! can't wait to keep on reading. and as for who i am - i never seem to fit in anywhere perfectly. my whole life as been a mix of one thing and a mix of another. today, i'm quite crunchy to my corporate or styling friends and then totally not crunchy to my super eco-conscious and crunchy friends. so it goes! glad i don't have to be anyone thing and just do what feels right!
I'm LOL at Tasha's response!!! Ha ha! My friends call me a hippie/crunchy mom but I'm a bit like Tasha - homebirths, breastfeeding, babywearing, all that good stuff but I do own one token Coach bag, lol. I'm pretty passionate about the environment, so I'd like to be thought of as a green and conscious mom but when people see my birkenstocks (I wear 'em too, haven't had them off my feet in years!) they ask me where my bag of granola is :-)
After giving this some serious thought I am the uptight, we follow a schedule and the rules, kind of mom. I am not the mom who allows her kids to climb up the slide the wrong way. I don't let them out of my sight. I stick to a schedule and don't like to vary from their naptime and bedtime routines. I am what I am. Like it or not, this is me.
I'm the tall, bossy, red-head nurse.
I'm a long-time Birk Lover too - if I didn't have to work I'd be in 'em every day.
I don't know how I'm perceived...Am I the smart ass one with a comment for everything? Am I the bitchy uptight mom? The laid back mom? I don't know...and I don't know if I want to know!!!
I thought you were gonna reference "Fun Bobby" from Friends! :)
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