so what does your husband do?

this is the question that pops up at the local playground each and every time I visit. No matter how many times I visit the park with my boys there is always a group of mommies joined together discussing how other moms fall short of their mommy standards. I find it to be the most annoying occurrence of my daily life and cringe at the sight of cute mommy pixie cuts and REI apparel. It almost makes me want to bury my keens in the back yard and torch my northface jacket.. just so I could never be mistaken for one of the triangle stay at home moms. As I sit quietly enjoying the sunshine and watching my wild man climb UP the slide,,which apparently is a big no-no now,, I over hear conversations of how so n so mom doesn't watch her kids on the playground and how "oh I would never drive a minivan", and how my husband is just drowning in research work during his residency. Which ultimately leads to the question they always pose... "so, what does your husband do?',, mine is in residency." They don't realize that I have worked hand in hand with residents as a NICU nurse and know that a large percent of them have no idea what they are doing,, that they are torn down daily by the attending.. that's beside the point... Its as if they got bored with bragging on their kids ability to count to five and moved on to impressing me with their husbands accomplishments. snore.... I am not impressed, I am actually quite turned off by the entire topic. My husband in my opinion is also brilliant,, should I stoop to their level and delve into the fact that he works in cytogenetics, no, I don't,, instead I play with these annoying women whom I have no desire to befriend.. umm, he is a bag boy at harris teeter. - what does this lead to you may ask, total silence.. a mommy standing before me wondering if she should apologize or just act as if that is a brilliant career. The fact is that I love my husband and if he had no job at all it wouldn't change the fact that my heart belongs to him. Besides that just what is wrong with a "normal people job" anyway?? So all this competition here in the Rtp solidifies in me that you can take the girl out of the mtns. but you cant take the mtn outta the girl. I find myself daydreaming about being at a park in Newland surrounded by moms who still let their kids ride their bikes on dirt roads,, ohhh even without a helmet, or make mud pies, or dare I say it play in the back yard alone- All the things that these city mommies would form secret meetings at the local park to discuss what a horrible moms we are. So,, after I am heated and annoyed I head on to the public library where I can be surrounded by moms that are simply there to hear a story at story time,, for free... and all hope is restored in a mom named Rose, with a rowdy 4 year old boy. We sit side by side and talk of all things baby boy, the weather, books, anything but status.. thank you Rose for letting me know you and not your credentials. its refreshing,, and hopefully we can meet up at the park.