Women Connecting: The Water Cooler Diaries

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I was having one of those days recently when nothing goes right, so I wasn't really surprised that while on a walk a bird flew over and took a potty break right on my foot. Of course, cause I am the practical mom type, I was wearing practical mom Keen sandals that are indestructible. And because I am a practical mom type I am used to having nothing private in my life so having my husband and dozens of neighbors drive by just as I was dancing around in a grassy park trying to  wipe the doo-doo off my foot and shoe did not phase me. (To my hubbie's credit, he did stop to help me out.) 

Perhaps the strangest part of the bird potty episode is the fact my life has become so boring lately that this freakish event was the most interesting thing that had happened to me in days. 

What is happening to me? I used to be at least moderately interesting. What do other women like me do all day that makes their lives more interesting? Thinking I need to check out how my sedate life compares to the fascinating lives of practically every other woman in America, I picked up a copy of Water Cooler Diaries by  Joni B. Cole and B.K. Rakhra.

The book is collection of diary entries written on March 27, 2007 by 35 women in a variety of careers--from the glamorous ones to those with bosses from hell--including a McDonald's manager, a trauma surgeon, a fashion designer, a multi-tasking mom, a prison intake counselor, a woman blogger, and a stripper/magician. I noticed that even when the the to-do list for the day seems overwhelming, the women writers weren't complaining. I'm not sure if this is a good thing, but women for centuries have faced similar frustrations and somehow we manage to make the best of even the toughest situations. (Now that is a character trait that needs to be highlighted on our resumes.)
According to Publisher's Weekly, "Unsurprisingly, women in every field and income bracket struggle in their own ways between career and family, but the grace and humor with which they do it is fresh and compelling."

I am still working on the "grace" part in my own life. I guess the "humor" part could be one of my more successful coping mechanisms. So what does make our lives interesting? What do we talk about? Turns out just connecting with other women makes our lives more interesting. Something as simple as finding out that another mom has trouble getting her 4-year-old daughter to wear socks in the winter made me smile as I read the book. Connecting with other women--in a book, in a blog, on the phone--can make any day better. 
(Photo: This cute baby robin was not the bird I "met" on my walk, but one of the cute babies that love to play in the sprinkler in my yard.) You can read more of my Momathon Blog posts at  http://www.MomathonBlog.com