I Have Become Downright Provincial

So, it's happened and perhaps there is no turning back... perhaps there is hope. This is what happens when you move to the suburbs, I suppose. Not that we have all the attractive trappings of the suburb life; We don't own a home or a dog or have a backyard and frankly the schools are not so much better as less crowded. We still stuggle to make ends meet and often they actually don't from week to week. But somehow I still had a sense of hipness about myself, of being somewhat 'cool', as I had when I was living in Los Angeles and working in the Industry. Oh sure, there were clues that this had faded away. One was when I made an entry into my Quicken for the purchase of a haircut and noticed that the last haircut I'd had was 8 months earlier! I've stopped wearing makeup on my days off but I could still tell myself that that was my little rebellion against the Tyranny of the Cult of Youth and Beauty Towards Women. The fact that S.O. (Significant Other) and I have not been out alone at night for over two years we keep TELLING ourselves is because of the expense of an adequate and reliable babysitter and lack thereof.

I mean, we watch the right things, we listen to NPR and (sometimes) music still and we read the hip Internet sites... But it has happened, I've gone native. What was the clincher? I bought a pair of jeans online (gift certificate from S.O.'s brother) and when they arrived they weren't quite right. But I decided not to send them back because by the time I paid for shipping back and then forth I would have paid $40 for a pair of $40 jeans that were supposed to have been a bargain in the first place... but the real shame of it all is that they are Levi's - no, not 501 or even 505 - Levi's 550... Relaxed fit... Tappered (cringe)... Yes, that's right. Say it loud, say it proud: Mom Jeans. And I'm wearing them right now on a trip to Target to buy diapers wherein I will bribe my little S.O.'s, versions 1 and 2, with candy for good behavior in the store. So sad...