The Preschool Blues

I have gone to three preschool open houses this week. The first one was thoroughly mediocre and had me a little scared that it would be hard to find a good one. The people were all very nice, but they kind of did a hard sell for a cooperative preschool which just seems to be the wrong way to go, to me.

Then on Tuesday, I visited a wonderful preschool in Fairfax. I wanted to start going there myself. They had a huge room with different activities and the theme this week is dinosaurs, so there were dinosaurs everywhere. Very cool. The only problem? It's in Fairfax, and I don't really want to be here next year.

Today I went to visit another cooperative preschool in Silver Spring, around where we would like to buy a house. It was a mixed bag. The kids seemed to be having a great time, and the rooms and teachers seemed cool, but the parents... They were nice, but I have never felt so underdressed and overdressed at the same time before. I was wearing a cherry red sweater set, small gold earrings, and jeans. I also had a tan, plain purse and a black and white ginko print jacket. I felt I had adopted a fairly conservative look that would be at home in a place where I do have to apply to get in, but where I also might get tempra paint on me while there. I should also mention that I was wearing make-up, which is relevant because nobody seemed to even have as much as chapstick on. Also, their clothes were all various shades of mud. Now, I happen to like shades of mud and think they can even look chic, but these all looked shapeless and drab and severe. I felt very out of place, and when I was telling C about it, he said "You felt very Dallas, huh?" And he was right, I felt that they were looking at me and seeing Texas big hair, pageant make-up, and flash. I felt like I was wearing sequins, when I thought I was projecting pearls. And that is a feeling I don't think I have ever had before.

Admittedly, I don't know if all the moms are like that, but really, there was shockingly little make-up around, especially considering the women all seemed like they were in their late thirties or early forties. You need make-up in order to look decent when you start aging; if I don't wear make-up it looks like I just got out of bed, all day. Or that I just finished a not-so-short stay in the hospital. Believe me, mascara and lipstick are with me before I check to see if I have extra diapers. After all, I can always pick up extra diapers, or even borrow one if I have to, but I can't just pick up a new lipstick on the fly.

I have another preschool open house to go to next week, but we may have to wait another year until we're settled to snag a spot at someplace we want. In the meantime, he could really go anywhere, I know I'm a good mom, and he's getting what he needs at home, he just needs some extra socialization, especially some without me there, so most places will do the trick, if it comes to that.