Wednesday, September 19, 2012

The Pick-Up Line

One of my favorite activities in life is people watching.  Particularly when you can people watch the same folks day after day you kind of get to know them a little bit.  Currently my favorite place to people watch is the pick-up area at the school.  The boy's elementary school doesn't have the best system in place for picking up the kids.  It's a neighborhood school built at time when I'm sure they simply opened the doors and told the kids "go home" without a thought of pedophiles prowling around.  Now days most of the moms drive or walk to the school to pick up their rugrats giving me a good opportunity to watch the kids and moms.

By far the vast majority of parents picking up kids are moms in mini-vans or SUV's.  Most of the moms - myself included - are dressed pretty simply, jeans, t-shirts, sweaters.  A few mom's are evidently just getting off of work and dressed a little better but for the most part it's a pretty casual bunch in pony tails and headbands.

The exception to the rule is a woman I'll call Ms. Lexus.  Ms. Lexus of course drives one, probably the most expensive vehicle in the pick-up line where an exotic vehicle is a newer mini-van.  Ms. Lexus's nice car isn't the most outstanding thing about her.  Ms. Lexus is dressed to the nines almost daily.  Last year I would see her picking up her son who evidently was in kindergarten (kindergartners must be handed over to parent or older sibling) as she would dart out of her car and come back with a little boy in tow.  Ms. Lexus would be dressed well, like VERY nice office well.  My first thought was that she must make a load of money and set her own hours to have such an expensive car and fancy clothes and be there to pick up her kid at 3:15.  I later changed my mind because last spring she pops out of her car in a strapless sundress.  Nothing wrong with that sundress, in fact it was very nice, just not something you'd wear to work and certainly looked odd picking up a kid from kindergarten.  This year school starts back up and I pull up behind Ms. Lexus and park the other day.  Ms. Lexus gets out to go greet her son and again is dressed up.  Whatever.  Monday, I notice Ms. Lexus was parked behind me and she walks past me again way dressed up but what caught my attention when she walked back to her car her son was sporting a Cub Scout Uniform for 1st graders.  A-HA, she'll be at the Pack meeting that night so I make a silent note of her clothes, again she is very nicely dressed.  That night at the pack meeting she brings her son and she had changed clothes from the afternoon.  Not to a more comfortable outfit, in fact she had donned another quite dressy outfit that consisted of a skirt just a tad short to sit comfortable on the bleachers in.  I don't know her story, but I know she didn't offer to volunteer for the pack committee!  I'm kinda curious to find out something about her.  Maybe I'll take up her career?

By far my favorite is a new vehicle this year with the window decals of "Dance Mom" in one corner and "Bee-Otch" in the other.  Really, you have young children, should you place that on your SUV and propagate the stereotype of a "Dance Mom" that portrayed in the reality show?

Well, that's just some general musings lately.

Life has been busy without major calamities.  Hubby has been traveling a fair amount lately and still has some to go, he's been in and out so much lately he doesn't even bother to unpack his shaving kit.  Mom and I both have a nasty head cold so we have just sat around and blown our noses for a couple of days.  Sonny Boy has been so busy with football and scouts he really just enjoys the days nothing is planned - I guess he enjoys fighting with Igor.  Igor is happy as a clam at school and tells me non-stop all evening about things they did at school all day which is the complete opposite from Sonny Boy whom I must pump information out of daily.

Well, I must go find some nasal spray.  I hope the Mucinex I took will kick in shortly.

1 comment:

Lin said...

I always had make-up on, hair done and dressed nicely (not fancy, but nice) for taking and picking the kids up from school. I found that you never knew when your kid would have an issue that required me to march right back in to that place to talk to the principal or the teacher. It happened more than once, so I liked to be prepared. She may be of my thinking...I don't know. Either way, I know it drove the other moms NUTS and they always made comments about my having make-up on.