It has long been a source of great sadness to me that I am not a [fill in the blank with a sport, hobby, or other activity] mom. I told my daughter about this recently, in an attempt to convince her to play hockey or soccer, but no, she refused to take up a new sport just so that I could be part of a voting bloc. This selfish attitude of course only adds to my sadness (wait a minute.. I seem to be channeling my mother-in-law..).
My daughter asked why I couldn't be designated as a professor mom, scientist mom, or even a trains-tabbies-to-do-Lipizzaner-stallion-tricks mom, so I explained that the mom-blocs aren't related to the mom's career or hobbies but to the activities of their offspring. That's why they are hockey moms instead of hockey women, or whatever. My daughter takes piano and guitar lessons, but for some reason piano moms aren't highly sought after as a group by politicians. She also swims, but the term swimming mom just doesn't sound good to me for some reason.
If anything, I probably have the best chance of being in a blogger mom voting bloc, unless the next president doesn't know how to use the internets.
If she has real talent at piano or guitar, you could always transmogrify into a Stage Mother!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'd be willing to bet there are quite a few Swim Team Moms out there somewhere.
Your exact branch of science remains a mystery, but I have no doubt that with a bit of imagination, you can come up with an acceptable label, e.g. "buckeyball mom". =)
ReplyDeleteIn the blank preceding "mom", must a word referring to some sort of team sport be applied?
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan of "swim" mom myself, perhaps because my mother was one. But I also am pretty flexible on filling in the blank before mom: band, cheerleading, drama, math club... it all works IMO.
It's indeed hard to be a [fill]-mom, but would you compromise for being a [fill]-ma? If your daughter was willing to get a puppy, you could be a dogma. As she gets into wearing long skirts -- maxis -- you become a maxima. And when she's old enough to buy a Cooper, you can graduate to being a minima.
ReplyDeleteI saw the title "blank mom" and thought you came up with a new slang for Palin! shooting blanks. went blank. FOR THE ENTIRE DEBATE.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the whole mom slang isn't so cool anymore... I'm seriously reconsidering throwing out my 2 lipsticks because of her. Gloss seems much more hip and trendy. I "betcha" there are Swim moms out thar.
Blogger Moms for Obama!
ReplyDeleteIf you're a geologist, of course, you're a rockin' Mom...
Blogger mom of course refers to being the mom of a blogger, so my [blank] mom name can't refer to my own activities. My daughter does not yet have a blog (as far as I know..), but she has created several websites that mostly seem to be imaginary worlds populated by adventurous cats.
ReplyDeleteI'd vote for swim mom or guitar mom. I don't think you need to say "swimming" because the soccer and hockey moms don't say "playing soccer" or "hockeying."
ReplyDeleteMaybe your daughter reads and you could be a book mom.
from the sounds of all your posts, in which i rejoice that you have a daughter to bring up and join the ranks of happy, well adjusted women of the world, i think you deserve the title "Awesome Mom" :).
ReplyDeleteI think Michael Phelps' Mom might disagree!
ReplyDeleteBut she's not a voting bloc. The name has to sound good to be a voting bloc. Swimmom just doesn't work.
ReplyDeleteshriram, I think you made some good points about why FSP may not quite fit into many of the sterotypical voting blocs. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat about Watermom?
ReplyDeleteBleacher Mom?
Meet Mom?
I think Blogger Moms (or Mommy bloggers) are women who blog about their kids, so you can qualify there.
Possibly also catblogger, science blogger.
Blogger Mom sounds like a voting bloc (although what Moms blog about varies hugely!)
music mom sounds good
ReplyDelete(haha, "sounds"...get it? Yeah, my students hate my pseudopuns, too).
I was a hockey mom... it was a huge pain in the posterior...coaches hate it when goalies don't show up, the unreasonable sods.
ReplyDeleteTo your daughter you are "my mom", as in "my mom won't let me" and "my mom is great" and the rest is fluff.
ReplyDeleteI believe in the hipster parlance, it's "mommy blogger," and it's quite the phenomenon which, at a cursory glance, you seem indisputably cooler than. :)
ReplyDeleteAs voting blocs go, technically I think you are a 'working mom' - the worst kind.
ReplyDeleteThe implication being, of course, that you are automatically less effective in your role as mom because you have a job. How distracting.
I was a Swim Team/Swim Lesson mom (who couldn't swim more than a lap) and let me tell you, there was a loud, fierce and potentially political bunch of mommies. Locals would call me to find out when sign-ups were, despite schedules being published in the local paper, convinced I knew before the city did.
ReplyDeleteI was also the Science Fair mom, the Library Mom, the Audubon mom...
Whatever your kid does that you support, that's what kind of mom you can be.:)
Fortunately, this ends somewhere past adolescence, or I'd be a Yoga, Retirement Fund, Surveyor Mom.
I think the (Blank)-Mom appellation is most accurate when the offspring activities involve competition for which cheering and supporting must be done, and most importantly, money must be made for the communal kitty (Boosters!). Otherwise, "Mo-oom!!!" seems to do.
Having had a not-very-supportive mom, my kids got encouraged to try anything as long as grades were consistently very good (even the Michael Flatley period got tolerated if not entirely cheered on). My reward is to hear from them in their current endeavors while I relax with much-less demanding cats.
Enjoy whatever she does, at whatever phase she is in. She'll have a lot to teach you, too.:)