chance encounter

So, in a few minutes, I'll be hosting a mom that I met at Humboldt Park a few weeks ago. It was one of the last really nice days of the fall before the arctic temperatures set in. Going to the park with just your kids is an interesting dynamic these days. There are some situations when you're with your kid(s) and your kid starts playing with another kid and so naturally you gravitate towards talking to their mom, about how old their child is, what their name is, etc. If the child is being watched by a nanny, normally I don't talk to them -- maybe it's my own bias that I want to meet other SAHM's (stay at home mom's)? We don't routinely go to parks where there's a large nanny population (i.e., Lincoln Park, Lakeview, etc.) unless we're with friends and I'm normally talking to my friends instead of strangers.

Anyhow, so that's one way you meet other moms, through your kids playing with their kids. Or a mom makes a comment about how cute your kids are or they like what their wearing (i.e., "where did you get that shirt/jacket/hair clip?"). Or, their mother pushes them on you. Which is what happened with this person I'm about to have over to my house today.

Ben, Caroline & I were on the swings and an older, asian woman approaches me and tells me how cute my kids are and then asks me what ethnic group I belonged to. I told her Korean and her eyes light up and she tells me that she's also Korean. And then she asks if I speak any Korean and I tell her that I'm adopted (I seriously think there's a standard script that all older Korean people have for talking to younger Korean people -- I get this exact conversation every.single.time). I have been told by Koreans that I seem really "American" (whatever that means) so maybe that's why?

So anyhow, this older woman was at the park with two children and her daughter. As I'm talking to her, she asks me where I live and I said that I lived south of here, without being specific. Her daughter walks up and we meet. She has an 8 month old son, which accounted for one of the children, the other child is the cousin to her 8 month old. We start talking and I find out that she lives in East Garfield Park, goes to Willow in the City (although they're not very active) and is looking for other mom friends in the neighborhood!

All the while we're talking and we see that we have more and more things in common, her mom is a running commentary of "you should really get to know each other" "you guys get together sometime" "you should go to her church (talkingto her daughter)", etc. I feel bad for this other mom -- how could you possibly NOT try to get my information with your mom standing right next to you pushing you onto this complete stranger?

So, I type my number and email address into her Treo and conveniently enough, Ben had to go poop, so we left to go home. I have often been told about pushy Korean moms, enough to know that I am really glad I didn't have one and I got some first hand evidence right there :) She did end up emailing me the next day, so I'm hopeful that we can be friends. She's looking to get more involved in the neighborhood and, on her own volition after I mentioned Breakthrough to her, looked them up on the internet! So, we'll see... This is my first real mommy-date in awhile, so I hope it goes well.