E in SMILE... should be for eating...

For the first time in my life, I joined a book club! Having never belonged to one before, I'm not sure if the potluck part of it is normal or not... but it's sure great! Such a delight to get together with other mothers and discuss uplifting and interesting material. And eat. Yum!

Interestingly, the woman who started the book club ten years ago shared her story of how it started. She had been trying to get one going for two or three years and only got sparse attendance. Then she added the potluck element... All of a sudden, she had so many moms showing up that she had to limit the number to 25!

So, I admit, the "E" in S.M.I.L.E. really should be for eating. It makes me feel better to remember back to when I was hosting the convention for which I originally made up the S.M.I.L.E. acronym, I did make sure that a hot catered lunch was included in the price... I wonder how many women signed up just for that?!

Eating makes me happy. (The Clueless Mama's baloney-face)

Alas, the "E" is NOT for eating. It is for Education. And that works out in the end... After all, similar to nourishment for the body, education is essential to feeling healthy in the brain.

I've noticed that my brain does, indeed, get hungry! No, no, no, not in a weird zombie-eat-your-brains kind of way.... You know the saying: "She has a real appetite for learning!" That was written about the Clueless Mama herself! I happen to know that if my gray matter isn't getting fed every once in a while, it gets very mushy and starts leaking out my ears and I serve it to my kids for breakfast on oatmeal day. Oooohh, gross, sorry... I guess I did end up talking in the weird zombie-eat-your-brains kind of way....

The fact is, I don't like being clueless. I don't like being in a situation with my kiddos that I don't know how to handle. I don't like feeling inadequate and inexperienced. And I KNOW that there are MILLIONS of mothers out there who HAVE a clue! They have been in exactly the same situations with their children and they have figured out how to handle it! They have experience and adequacy that I want to beg, borrow, or steal -- and feed to my starving brain!!!

Mothering is not something colleges offer a Ph.D. program in. Graduation from high school isn't even necessary before you can bring a baby into the world. The lack of education required for motherhood simply does not match the job description... we cradle-rockers need to know what the heck we're doing because the next generation will be affected by our actions whether we want to admit it or not.

I will now climb down off my soapbox and go on my date with my husband. TTFN!