Snubbed at Gymboree

My husband and I decided pretty early that we wanted Olivia to participate in organized play because we knew it would be good for her for many reasons.  For me, I wanted her to be able to spend time with other kiddos since she doesn't have any siblings or any family her age.  She's so social that I knew it would kill her to be stuck with mommy all the time.  It definitely was the right decision because she absolutely loves her class and gets so excited when I tell her that we're going to Gymboree.

I must say that I, too, have been enjoying the class as well.  I love seeing her explore and try new things and I love to sing songs with her and just play with her.  I kind of get into it.  Also, I know, as a a teacher, that if, I as the adult in her life, am enthusiastic about something then she will be enthusiastic too.  And she is, so it's working.

The thing that I didn't expect was the very thing that happened today.  Let's just say that I felt like I was back in high school again and was being shunned by the cool kids.  See, I was singing the pop the bubble song and doing the motions with some gusto because the Peanut was getting a kick out of it when I noticed two moms sitting by me start to whisper to each other, look at me and laugh.  Really?  Aren't we the parents and aren't we supposed to be setting the right example for our children?

I wasn't going to let snobby Scottsdale moms ruin my fun with my daughter, so I moved us to the other side of the parachute circle and continued to be silly and have fun with my daughter. It was funny because they looked a little surprised to see me move away from them, but frankly I don't care.  I don't have time for that non-sense.  I was there to have fun with my daughter, period.

I'm really hoping that this was an isolated incident, but a part of me knows that it probably is not and there will be many more times that we encounter this sort of behavior.  As my daughter gets older and becomes more aware of what's going on there will probably be questions and that's when I will use these situations as teachable moments to teach my daughter how to be kind and how to love others in spite of how they treat us.