Glory Days

Yesterday I had breakfast with a dear friend of mine from MBA school. We live less than 10 miles apart and yet don't see each other nearly enough. Whenever we get together, we inevitably end up having a good laugh about the "old" us versus the "new" us. When we were in Business School, we were ready to conquer the world. Career women! In comparison, during our breakfast, my girlfriend told me the hilarious story of being completely mortified while encountering her old boss and co-workers (at the mall of all places) in their full "business suit with briefcase in-hand" attire. While she on the other hand was out in her sweats, no make-up, and recently recovered from illness. Dreamy, right? The only thing better is having an ex-girlfriend of your husband walk into the store at the same time!

I know that it is not just the A+ moms out there, but every mom that had an identity of her own before having kids, that can relate to the story. It's like the movie where the character is constantly reliving his glory days and saying to others, "I used to BE somebody!" And that is exactly how I feel some days. After hearing "Stop it!" "He hit me" or "That's mine!" for the twentieth time, I want to yell, "I used to manage a team of people who could all do multiplication and eat with utensils!" Admit it, you have too. My girlfriend and I even speculated what a current performance review would look like: Laundry done in a timely manner? Check. Whites and bright colors sorted correctly? Check. Nice crisp folds in t-shirts and sweaters? Needs improvement. Good thing I'm not in this mothering-thing for the validation! The fact that the good days outnumber the bad ones is rewarding enough for me.