Monday, March 5, 2012

To Facebook, Or Not To Facebook? That is the Question!

My dear friend Jill Effron, entertainment industry veteran and mom, has been kind enough to write a guest post for me today. Let's all welcome her with open hearts and wallets. I don't know where that came from. Enjoy!


So here’s the situation: new preschool, new moms. Suddenly, the moms you bonded with at the neighborhood playground over sleep training and strained prunes are now dispersed throughout different preschools. You’re back to square one, three years into your job as mom. It’s like puberty all over again. You’re insecure. You worry your breath smells like pizza because that’s the only thing you can eat cold when you’re in a hurry to get your toddler to school. You wonder if your outfit looks like you tried too hard or like the harried mom you really are. You wonder if they’ll find a sticker on your ass. It’s kinda like a funky game of “Where’s Waldo?” except it’s a sticker and your ass is like the size of two coloring books these days.
Somehow, someway, you wind up bonding with another mom at the water table, a table built to piss off germaphobic moms like me. One of you suggests a play date. The other one says, “That would be great!” A week passes by at the water table and only smiles have been exchanged. Suddenly, one of you remembers that one of you suggested a play date. This is where you do the obligatory, “Oh right, baby brain, we were so gonna put something on the calendar,” followed by nervous laughter.  You go back and forth on dates that would work until you land on one. 
Once the date is settled, you decide to do a little recon on the mom. Back in the day, you would call upon the local rumor mill to get the dirt on someone. These days you can look them up on Facebook and see the kind of company they keep. Well, you can hazard an educated guess, because let’s be honest, most people talk to about 1% of the people they’re friends with on Facebook. The other 99% are there to make them look popular.
Now, do you friend your play date pal on Facebook before the date? Or does it send the wrong message? Or do you do it after the play date? Or is that suggesting that the date went well and we should take our play date relationship to another level—say, the, “Let’s just go out as moms and leave the ankle weights behind,” level?
What do you do? Do you Facebook before the date? Or three days after the date so you don’t seem desperate? Or do you wait for her to friend you? I really think this is worse than, “Will he call?” Just when you thought you’d never have to worry about that feeling again. Thank you, Facebook. Thank you.

Jill Effron is a work-from-home-mom of two darling kiddies. Before succumbing to motherhood, she spent ten plus years working in every genre of television. Outside of the TV world Effron wrote, directed, and produced plays and award winning short films. Once her daughter was born she started a personal chef business that you can read about at http://blog.foodservicewarehouse.com/catering/2010/09/.  The only writing she does these days is Facebook status updates and Shutterfly captions. She hopes to return to the blogging world. She hopes you like this post. She will now stop talking in third person.

12 comments:

Your escalator operator said...

Whatever person she's writing in - first, third, whatever - that Jill Effron is hilarious.

Lisa Page Rosenberg said...

Thank you. I thought I was the only one who worried about these things. FYI: After the playdate, I like to take it to the next level by following new-mommy-friend on Pinterest. Bam!

Unknown said...

LOL...yup, that's my life now. Sometimes I miss waiting for "the call!"

Facebook...you've turned me into a stalker

Nathan Ruegger said...

Never thought about it like this! Great blog post!

TheGirlfriendMom said...

Thank you ladies for commenting on. Jill is a funny broad.

Courtney Millian said...

I have enjoyed reading Jill's FB updates and shutterfly commentary for years. This blog allows her to say that much more and purely entertain us! Though I'm not a mom (and I'm unfortunately still in the "will HE call?" phase) I can say at the end of the day, it teaches us that no matter what stage in life, we're all going through the same crap. Great spin and humor on this one - loved it! :)

The Alienated StepMom said...

Love it...Keep them coming.

CaffeinatedOCMommy said...

HA! Thank you fb is right! Like there isn't enough garbage that we have to worry about and to now worry about friending your kid's playmate's Mom? Say it with me... RI DIC U LES! Jill Darling, you've inspired me to unfriend the 99... Cups Up! xoxo

jennifer ginsberg said...

Sticker on the ass....brilliant! Not only are they on my ass, they are on my car window, on my laptop cover, and on my new leather jacket. As far as Facebook goes, I jumped that ship many years ago. Life is complicated enough without spending every spare moment checking the status updates of the assholes I went to high school with. But I'm certainly not above a little good-natured google stalking!

Lauren said...

Great! And very true!

Unknown said...

I felt more like I was dating in my baby and pre school years then I ever did when I was actually dating! Wait till you walk into a PTA meeting, it's totally a flashback to junior high! Thanks for a great post!

Anonymous said...

Jill captures THE question of our time... To facebook or not. Brilliant!