Category: Mom, Woman, Or Both?

So I think this is the crisis of all mothers my age. I’ve discussed this with numerous friends on numerous occasions. I love being a mom. That goes without saying. But I have a fear of looking like a mom. I have always been told I look young for my age (though I am not sure if that is still the case because I haven not been carded in quite some time. But maybe that is because in addition to beer, I am also buying diapers, a pot roast, and more fruits and vegetables than Fritos and easy cheese. Not the typical grocery basket of the underage set). So there is a part of me that still does not feel old enough to have my life. I sometimes still resist the urge to call my parents to get permission to take a weekend road trip. But I also do not feel like a teenager, as exemplified anytime I walk into The Limited and try to find something to wear. Don’t they know that the thin, clingy fabric they use to make all their clothes shows every piece of flab on my body? Oh wait…most of their clientele has not had two kids. Right. But I am also not ready to graduate to buying my clothes from Coldwater Creek either. Why? Because my mom shops there. Nothing against my mom. She is a beautiful woman who always looks nice, but she is in her late fifties…and a grandma. And my husband does not want to sleep with my mom…a plus on many levels. So what is a thirty-three-year-old mom to do? I can not say I have a great answer besides compromise the best I can. I want to feel young and modern, but I do not want people to think I am my kids’ babysitter either. I would love to someday have my daughter ask to borrow something out of my closet, but I also do not want my son’s friends coming over so they can watch his mom clean the house in booty shorts (not that I look that great in booty shorts). I may not always know how the strike the balance, but I can say there will always be that voice in my head telling me to put down the mom jeans…