AnchorMommy

My secret life

March 17, 2011 by Shannon

I’m not big on secrets. In fact, I’m probably more of an oversharer when it comes to the details of my life. My friends probably hear way more than they care to. But sometimes, I feel like I’m living a weird sort of secret life, because there’s a certain group of people who see me on a regular basis, but know very little about me.

The preschool moms.

They’re the moms of other kids in Kellan’s preschool class, and I see them often – about three times a week, in fact. Sometimes I bump into them at the grocery store, or when we’re working out at the gym (admittedly, this has become a rare occurrence for me), or at the library’s storytime. We always exchange friendly “hello”s, often commiserate about our children’s ability to make life unusually difficult for no reason, and chit-chat about the goings-on at preschool. But almost nobody knows about this blog. I don’t tell them about it. Why? I have no idea. It just doesn’t come up, I guess.

Most of them have no idea that I used to anchor the news. I do think I look familiar to some of them, and they don’t know why. You know how sometimes you’ll see a former acquaintance or high school classmate, and they smile at you and look sort of puzzled? I get that a lot. A few of the moms have seen me on TV recently (an interview/infomercial I did with doctors from a local health clinic is airing daily in our TV market), and they always mention it to me with a look of surprise on their faces. Then comes my explanation on how, exactly, a bedraggled and ponytailed mom like me came to be on a television commercial. The longer this ad airs, the better I’m getting at explaining it.

I think most of the moms and preschool staff just think I’m an average, run-of-the-mill, stay-at-home-mom. Which I am, really. But when the kids are in bed, I don’t have time to fold endless stacks of laundry, pack lunches for the next day, or catch up on magazine reading. I work. I flip open the laptop and delve into the world of keywords, H1s and H2s. I write and edit copy, send revision requests and suggestions to writers, and format web pages. So when I get asked to do the extra duties that preschool moms are often tasked with – bake goodies for a bake sale, or craft something for a fundraising raffle – I hesitate for a second before I say yes. I just don’t have a ton of spare time for such requests. And to be honest, I think those requests come more frequently to the parents who seem to be the at-home kind. I may be at-home, but I’m not a non-working parent. Do I explain this when I’m asked to help out? Nope. Being the chronic helper that I am, I usually say “sure” and curse myself later for taking on too much. Why don’t I overshare in this case? I have no idea.

So I keep my secret life to myself. My infomercial-hosting, copy editing, occasional blogging life. I just keep going to preschool pick-ups and drop-offs, keep smiling at fellow moms, and keep saying yes to preschool mom duties with no hint whatsoever at my other identity.

Shhhh…..let’s see if they figure it out.