Publication Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Ladies' Night
Ladies' Night
(January 14, 2004) Mother's club provides respite from pressures of everyday life
by Rachel Metz
Cyndi Lauper put it succinctly when she sang "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." At Fairmeadow Elementary School, however, it's the mothers -- not the students -- who get the party started.
Mothers throughout the school gather once a month for a night out -- sans kids, pets, husbands and other distractions. It serves to unite the school community, and provide a moment's respite from the pressures of everyday life.
"We set up play dates for our kids -- we're sort of a play date for grownups," said Mary Kraemer, one of the group's organizers.
Genevieve Butcher, the mother of a Fairmeadow kindergartner and second-grader, started the club last year for first-grade moms. This year, working with Kraemer, the group has expanded to include mothers with children in other grades.
Sometimes the group goes out for dinner at Chevy's, where they can pay for food with Scrip - fund-raising gift certificates that support Fairmeadow. Other times, they hold a "bring-your-own crafts" night, where women can learn how others put together scrapbooks.
Butcher said a lot of moms wish to make such connections, and the group's activities enable them to get involved with the school.
Last Thursday night, around 10 Fairmeadow mothers gathered in the school's library. The evening's activity: Cutting and folding paper decorations for the school's March auction, which has a cruise theme.
Amidst piles of brightly-colored construction and tissue paper, women discussed hot topics like whose kids have had pneumonia, the film "Searching for Bobby Fischer" and upcoming school events. The end result helped their school, but in the meantime attendees were having fun, laughing and chatting.
"It's kind of like a sewing circle or a quilting group, you know?" Lisa Steinback, mother of a third-grade student, said.
Other mothers agreed. Between the cheap thrills -- learning to make origami ships and sea-themed tissue flags -- and a snack table stocked with chips, guacamole, cookies and more, there was plenty to talk about.
"You get to know people over doing these decorations," Butcher said.
Attendee Julie Cardillo thinks the moms are "just fun, cool people."
"And it's not around children so we get to have a conversation for more than 20 seconds without an interruption," she said.
They're also interested in having lunchtime meetings, because some single mothers have problems getting childcare for the night meetings.
"It's an evolving thing," Kraemer said.
Though not as grown-up as the mothers-only nights, the moms have also organized a sibling play group. On Friday mornings, mothers take their under school-age children to Mitchell Park.
And what about Fairmeadow dads forming their own group?
"You know, I hear a rumble every once in a while ... but I don't know how serious that is," Kraemer said.
Rachel Metz can be e-mailed at rmetz@paweekly.com
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