When I got home I tweeted about it and asked, "Who would have?"
I was surprised when a lot of my lovely tweeps said they would and/or do!
I must live in a boring town because I've never seen any mums skipping with their kids around our school.
I've never been the 'fun mum' in public. The one who slides with their kids at the playground or runs and plays tag.
I'm fine doing that at home. I can be as silly as any kid behind closed doors. I have a lot of fun with my kids at home. But I am very uncomfortable 'getting my silly on' in public.
I had the words "behave yourself" instilled in me as a child and they're hard for me to shake off.
I also do not like drawing attention to myself. I don't like people looking at me.
I did take myself right out of my comfort zone when I took performing arts as my major at college. We toured a number of small country towns and I actually loved being on stage. I did a lot of things at college that I would never do now. It's called 'the risky shift'. That's the only thing I remember from Psychology!!
But as much as I would love to say "who cares who's watching" some habits are hard to break and some personality traits are even harder to ignore.
I guess that's what makes us all different.
There's a part of me that is really jealous of those of you who can let go in public.
I know some of you have answered this already on Twitter yesterday but...
Who would have?
Meeeee! One of the reasons I'm so looking forward to having kids is that I will have an excuse to be silly in public. I always *want* to be silly, but most of the time I catch myself because I'm scared people will laugh at me. But with a toddler/child, I can be myself :) So bring on the skipping, I say!
ReplyDeleteI'm such a big kid...
Someone once told me if I was afraid to do something or say something they had a fix.
ReplyDeleteThey would go stand in a cemetary and just think about the people there, and how its too late for them. Bet they'd skip. And be silly if they got another chance.
I would have. I can't anymore, though. I also can't run and play footie with my daughter (and son, when he's old enough,) ride bikes with them, or even walk to the park like we used to.
ReplyDeleteI broke my leg quite severely in February, and even still am not supposed to be walking. (It was severe enough to warrant emergency surgery to put in a plate, screws and tendon grafts.) I taught myself how to walk again over two months early in April, simply because I could not bear the zero amount of interaction I was having. Most days, by the time the kids are asleep, the pain and swelling are bad enough to warrant a narcotic pain med. I'll take that pain over the agony that is not being able to do anything but sit idly by while you're children go off and do things alone, though.
I used to be that silly mum, the one who would penguin-walk with her daughter down the street, or put books on her head in the library to show her and the other princess how to "walk like a lady."
I can't be that mama anymore. Perhaps, next time you have the chance, you'll think of me, and do it in my honor?
It's so weird you should write about this today. My dad always made sure he had fun with us in public, and even when he embarrassed us we loved that he didn't care what other people thought. I'm the same, mostly! But that said, I totally understand where you are coming from. My blog post today is living proof of what happens when you are an idiot in public and the consequences ;)
ReplyDeleteI definitely would have!
ReplyDeleteI often do silly things with the kids ... but it does kind of depend on my mood. If I'm feeling sick/sore/lazy I'll just say I'm not up to it; otherwise I don't mind being silly. I think the kids' friends think I am crazy though!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tenielle - kids give you the license to be silly in public and you can make life magic for them (and yourself) by getting your sillies on for all to see. That's one thing about having kids... life's definitely not about you anymore!
ReplyDelete(Melissa - KleenexMums)
I would have. I also have trouble walking over the hopscotch squares in the play area. I have to hop hop hop jump hop jump.
ReplyDeleteI slide down the slide at the park and can often be heard singing as we walk down the street. Juvenile? Me? You bet!
Gee, thanks everyone. Now I feel really BAD!! LOL
ReplyDeleteHmm, I'm not sure. I'd like to think I'm a fun mum. My mother was not. I'm not sure I would skip, mostly because fat chicks can't skip any better than they can dance.
ReplyDeleteI do stupid stuff in public with my children as long as it's not going to cause a scene or disrupt other people. Actually, I tend to do stupid stuff with other people's kids in public too. I think there's a line. You can quite easily tell which side most people were raised on.
I would love to be a silly mum - but I have yet to find the pelvic floor exercises that allow me to skip free of concern (which is the whole idea, isn't it?)
ReplyDeleteI'm with Angela, hopscotch gets me everytime there is one painted on the footpath between work and the bustop and every afternoon I have a go! And I love the swings and slide too, last time I came a cropper off one slide a mum used her cat like reflexes and reached out to catch me, whilst my own mum was day dreaming on the bench!
ReplyDeleteMiss 11 wants to sing more so than skip nowadays (damn tween attitude is taking over) she only noticed yesterday that we both lower our voices automatically when someone passes us in the street, I fear the end of silly in public is nigh :(
Dance like no one is watching,
ReplyDeletelove like you'll never be hurt,
sing like no one is listening,
and live like it's heaven on earth.
Do it!!! Life is too short and he won't wan to skip with you in a few years - he'll be the one embarrassed by your actions.
I would have, because kids love it when I do things like that. If they are giggling and having a great time, then I don't care who is watching. Mostly that sort of thing will just raise a smile from strangers, not judgement, and if it does, well so what!?
ReplyDeleteGo on, let yourself go, lose yourself in the moment, you'll love it and so will your kids! Set yourself the challenge to do something like that out of your comfort zone....
I used to be a clown, Thea, not many embarrassing-in-public things faze me anymore ;)
ReplyDeleteThea, as you know, I am a skipping Mum. BUT, here's the deal with me. I never used to. When I was overweight, I wanted to, but couldn't/felt I shouldn't.
ReplyDeleteI remember the very few occasions that my Mum skupped with me as a child, and it was pure bliss for me as a kid, to be with her when she was fun.
So that is why I skip now.
It is a liberation, for me.
If you were a Mum at my school, I would get you playing skip rope WITH ME! xx
I do. I think it comes from being a Nanny.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter does dancing, and parent participation is optional. My daughter constantly wants me to dance with her. I'm mostly the only parent up there, whilst all the other parents watch me.
I don't care what they think of my skipping style, or how I twirl {or if my bum jiggles when I do}. All I care about is that when I look at my daughter with that huge smile all across her face, that's what matters. That's what she'll remember.
I think of those song lyrics: When you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance
Sometimes I can be the silly mum. Some times I don't want to. I doesn't make you a better mum if you do get your silly on in public, it doesn't make you a worse mum if you don't. We are not all the same, and some people just don't like to do that stuff... nothing wrong with that.
ReplyDeleteFor me it depends on my mood, the company I have, and where I am.
It's a personal choice, for some, doing that kind of thing is stressful, and it then isn't a fun time for the adult or the child. I take people as they come mostly... whether they want to do those things or not.
Don't be hard on yourself I say...
I am just going to add something here Thea. There is a friend of mine who is the one that giggles at me when I skip and shakes her head. She is a non-skipping chick. She is a fun fun fun Mum that my kids ADORE. She is the Mummy that TALKS to them more than any other Mum. (I adore her too.)
ReplyDeleteSo I guess your post has made me realise that, as with most parenting things, we need to do what feels right for us right now.......and if that means no skipping, that is very cool too. xx
Skip! Definitely skip. I used to skip with my whole class of students, so of course I skip now I'm a mum with my own kids ;-)
ReplyDeleteI would have :-) I dont have children but when I worked at a nursery I was always known as the one who would quite happily sing and dance around with the children if i saw them outside of work (There was one time that I saw one of the children i looked after in a clothes shop with their mum and they were fussing while she was trying to try on clothes, so I danced around with them for 15 mins while mum finished up - I was waiting for a firend so didnt mind and I ended up with quite a little crowd of followers by the time she had finished lol
ReplyDelete