Disney Wants Everyone to Know That I Have Kids

A few weeks ago, Disney World sent me this:

In case you can’t tell, it’s a car magnet.  A small token for being a Disney annual passholder.  Cute, isn’t it?  Every year they send us something different as a thank you gift.  Normally, it’s a signed drawing or a special card, but this year they really stepped it up.  Right after opening it, I put it (and the rest of the mail) aside, no doubt because of screaming kids who wanted their dinner.  A few days later, my husband brought it to my attention, saying how nice it was for them to send us a gift.  I immediately claimed it as mine, and he told me that he was surprised that I hadn’t put it on my car already.  Regardless, it was mine, and he couldn’t have it.

And then days passed.  Weeks.  The magnet still wasn’t on my car.  My husband threatened to take it and use it on his own car, but I warned him against that.  You know, for his health.

But I was conflicted.  You see, when I was pregnant with Greenleigh I never understood people who put those honor student bumper stickers or family stick figure window decals on their cars.  I wondered what compelled them to place a sticker heralding their family’s size, interests, or intelligence (or lack thereof?) on their car as they raced down the highway.  Right then and there, I promised that I would not be one of them.  I mean, you can be proud of your kids and the fact that you’re a mom without placing it on your car, right?

Let me be clear, I harbored no judgement towards people who do these things, I just didn’t get it.  I still kinda don’t.

Which only makes me more scared terrified that suddenly I’ve become one of them.  Sure, this is a sticker with some letters and mouse ears on it, and far from describing the gender, intelligence, or hobbies of my kids, but I think when you slap it on the back of a car that comfortably seats 7, it screams “I HAVE KIDS!”.  And if you get right down to it, Disney is one of our “interests” as a family, so I guess it’s also saying, “THIS IS WHAT WE LIKE TO DO AS A FAMILY!”.  Do I really want everyone behind me at a stop light to know that?  Do they need to know?  Do they want to know?  Bottom line is, this sticker isn’t all that different than a stick figure family or honor student bumper sticker.  Eeek.

Clearly, I’m over-thinking this, but I couldn’t seem to put that sticker on my car.  I have an image in my mind of the cool mom that I want to be, and that magnet just didn’t seem to jive with that image.

Then, this past Friday we went out to dinner with some friends.  Some of our friends have kids and others don’t.  Over the course of the evening, we sat around the table chit-chatting about what we were going to do over the long weekend.  We told them about girls and what they were up to.  And all was going well until someone mentioned that they were getting up early the next morning…you know, at 10am.  The parents around the table laughed and we all began to share how truly early the weekend starts in our homes…while being slightly jealous of those who get to start their day at 10am.  And then while others left the restaurant to head to other establishments, I yawned a big tired yawn because 11pm is just too late for me to be out on a “school night”.

And then I realized it – even if it’s not on my car, I tell everyone I’m a mom anyway.  It’s not like I hide it…I do write this blog after all.  I laugh at those who complain about 10am being early.  I tease those who end dinner at 11pm only to hit another location (that isn’t their house) afterwards.  I go to dinner with friends only to talk about my kids and all the cute stuff they do.  I am a mom.  And even if you didn’t know it, my 7 seater SUV probably tells people that anyway.   I mean, those carseats are massive and can easily be seen by low flying aircraft.  What’s a sticker on top of all of that?

Today, I decided to rip the bandaid off.

And it didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would.  But I’m still not getting one of those stick figure family decals.