Trendy Mom at the Park Day

Thanks a lot, guys, for forgetting to send me the memo that today was the day for trendy moms and perfect children to go to the park and not the day for normal, unshowered mothers to take their dirty, active, "I dressed myself" children to the park. Unfortunately I learned it the hard way by just showing up at the park today. I should've known something was up when we walked into the parking lot full of Lexus, Mercedes, and Acura SUVs. Of course we had walked to the park in our InStep double bike trailer/stroller. I quickly noticed that I was the only one there in knit pants, t-shirt, a baseball cap with bedhead poking out the back, and running shoes, and I believe my boys were the only ones there not in Polo shirts, khaki shorts, and leather sandals. Believe it or not, Sam was wearing knit shorts that were much too short for him and black velcro tennis shoes with no socks and on the wrong feet nonetheless (his proud attempt at getting ready himself). I should also mention that he had ink drawings all up and down his legs that I haven't been able to scrub off for the last 2 days. Getting the picture? I decided to proceed with the day since we were already there despite the looks we were getting. Sam immediately went for the most put-together family there, and he became a magnet to an 18-month old girl named Harper. He loved her; he couldn't keep his gentle hands off of her, and personal space boundaries were completely out the window. To Sam's credit, Harper was completely taken with him. Her mother? I'm still not sure. Sam did tell me on the way home that the girl's mom told him he was a very good boy. Maybe she was worried that he comes from a neglectful home???
My first instinct was to want to bury my head in the head or high-tail it out of there as fast as I possibly could. Instead I chose to be grateful that we had a stroller to walk to the park and that we actually did it. I'm grateful we had clothes to wear there even if we did look incredibly homely. I'm grateful Sam is so social and loves everyone around him, and I'm especially grateful for how nice he is to other kids. I'm grateful Will got to swing all by himself, and I loved seeing him smiling when the wind was blowing on his face. I was also happy that Sam's construction dream came true today. There was construction going on all around the park, and he was mostly interested in watching that. The workers let him sit in their tractor; he wås so happy I thought he was going to pass out. I was grateful that on the walk home I felt proud to have such a simple life full of simple pleasures. I was grateful that my life is so full of love from precious children that I don't spend a lot of time distracting myself with much else.
Yes, this is how we actually went to Trendy Mom at the Park Day

disclaimer: this was in no way intended to be a judgement or lecture to those moms who are so put together all the time or who drive expensive cars. Please don't take offense or misinterpret my feelings or experience.