Seriously, How Does She Do It?

Last night all the stars aligned and I was actually able to sit down and watch a 90 minute movie.  On a weeknight to boot!  Not sure how that happened, but it was glorious.  Netflix is a kooky thing ... I go online and randomly add movies to our queue and then forget about them ... two months later - viola!  So yesterday we received one of those fabulous red envelopes and much to my surprise it was I Don't Know How She Does It with SJP, Greg Kinnear and Pierce Brosnan (I love me some Pierce Brosnan)!  I had totally forgotten about this movie ... I vaguely remember seeing a trailer for it some time ago and I vaguely remember adding it to our queue.  Anyway, it was perfect timing as I was out of brain power last night and needed a good chickflick and a Skinny Cow (don't know Skinny Cow?  check your grocer's freezer!).  The movie turned out to be very cute ... nothing spectacular or life changing, but silly girl fun with a glass of wine on the couch good.  I think the movie might be based on a book.  The premise is that SJP is a working mother with two young children, married to Kinnear, juggling a big project at work - with Brosnan, and dealing with an always late nanny, a judgemental mother in-law and a over-eager and hyper aggressive assistant in the office.  Her bff is played by Christina Hendricks and Busy Phillips is the over-exercised and all-too-perfect Kindergarten mom from hell.  Good.  Stuff. 

So the movie got me thinking about all the moms I know.  The moms I like and the moms I don't.  The working moms (outside the home) and the stay at home moms (SO working!).  The judgements that we all make ... about others and ourselves.  The envy, the criticism but also the support, the friendships.  Overall, I'd say that I am very lucky ... I have to work outside the home BUT I have a super flexible and well paying job.  I rarely travel, it is usually easy for me to take time off, I usually have plenty of down-time in my day to check Facebook and make a grocery list and send personal e-mails, etc.  Maybe I'm not making as much $ as my M.S. would allow me to make if I were hitting the career path hardcore and maybe I'm not spending my days fulfilling all my childhood hopes and dreams, but for the most part I am satisfied, for now. 

I am going to confess something, though.  I know this woman.  We're friendly.  We're not bffs, our boys go to school together and play several sports together and we have the occasional chat.  I have a bit of a mom crush on this woman.  Not the we all experiment in college type crush, but more like I want to be her when I grow up.  I don't know that I would call it envy, well it isn't the little green monster envy, because she is actually very nice and modest and down to earth and I like her.  She just seems to have a great life ... nice kids, husband is tall - dark - handsome, she's an All American California beach babe type, very healthy, nice house (but not an ostentatious mcmansion), very personable, friendly but not in your face, etc. etc. etc.  I was recently confessing this to a friend and describing this woman and my friend said, "Lou, you are those things too and I envy you".  I proceeded to buy her more drinks.  LOL  No, but really ... that was nice to hear but I don't see it.  So maybe it is more about perception?  This mom crush of mine, maybe she's got some real issues behind closed doors?  One can only hope ...