Tiffany Raiford
If never you’ve been to a PTA meeting, please allow me to encourage that you do try to attend at least one. Not because it’s even remotely exciting, or because you want to be involved in yet another organization for which you haven’t the time to commit, but because it’s just a circus. I say that without malice or ill will of any kind. This is an organization that is so important to our children’s schools, and we’d be lost without it. This is a group of parents and teachers that work hard to ensure that our kids have fun events to attend, the school has some great stuff going on and that funds are raised to ensure our kids are getting the most out of school.
But PTA moms are something else. You might think that they are the type of women who care, want to serve and know exactly how to be efficient and make things happen. And some of them are. Others, though, are far more entertaining to experience at least once in your life. I’ll be upfront when I say that I am the ‘head mom’ at my middle daughter’s school, but I just couldn’t commit to my older daughter’s elementary program. Between coaching her cheer squad, working from home, parenting four kids, working the fall festival committee at church and the parents committee at church – I simply did not have the time.
And I do regret that. Not because I want to spend more time away from my family, but because sometimes I find the greatest entertainment in life is a PTA mom. They’re amazing women who do so much for our kids’ schools, but they are definitely characters. It’s pretty much a guarantee that you will meet at least one or two of these types of women at the next meeting you attend.
The Overachiever
You know this mom. She’s the one on every committee, in charge of everything and she is always the first one to raise her hand and offer to do something she knows she doesn’t have time for. She tries too hard and she probably hates herself. She definitely drinks too much wine when she gets home, and chances are good that her Yeti tumbler is not concealing ice water that will stay icy and cold for a week but a vodka tonic because she is stressed. The PTA will do that to you.
The Optimistic Mom
It’s hard not to love the optimistic mom. Even if the school budget is about as impressive as the national deficit, she is so absolutely certain that a bake sale will fix that right up! She’s always smiling, always happy and she’s always got a cup of coffee in hand and a nice compliment for everyone she encounters. She’s obviously a robot, but the PTA needs her.
The Perfect Mom
It is hard to love this mom, and not because we have an issue with moms who look good and care for themselves. I’m sometimes mistaken for this mom simply because I’m vain enough to rise early each morning to do my hair and makeup and I love to wear heels and fashion is my passion. But, I’m not perfect and I don’t claim to be. This mom, however; she’s working hard. She looks perfect (and good for her for making time for herself, love that!) and she is perfect and her kids are perfect. The PTA isn’t something she actually cares about; but it looks good on her ‘perfect mommy’ resume.
They volunteer at the soup kitchen (her 3-year-old’s idea) and they never talk back and they never argue and they never have a bad day and her kids are always giving and kind and thoughtful and wonderful and they #lovelife all the time. Except that anyone who knows her kids knows that they are kind of the worst ones; bullies, entitled brats, rude and they never take responsibility for their actions because mommy is always telling them they are perfect and they don’t actually have to take responsibility.
The #Blessed Mom
Now, this is a mom that might drive you crazy, or you might love her. I choose to love her. I choose to love her because I love a person that doesn’t spend all day long complaining about everything because she is too busy appreciating all that is good in her life. We need more people like that in the world. I actually want to be more like this, and I’m trying (and failing) daily. She’s blessed. She’s got it good – not perfect. She’s happy with her life because she knows it’s a good one, and she’s always talking about how blessed she is, appreciating it all and thanking God for all he’s done for her. She’s another one that the PTA needs desperately on their team.
The Young Mom
You know, she’s a young mom. Maybe she started early or she had a little accident during her teenage years and she’s struggled and worked hard to make life good for herself and her kids. She’s trying; she wants to be involved and she wants to take the PTA by storm and show the world that she’s not some screw up who can’t get her life in order because she had a baby a little bit earlier than other women.
She’s perky and she’s interested. She’s ready and willing to help out and to volunteer, and she might be a bit annoying at times. But you know what? She’s needed. She’s young, fresh and she’s not yet realized that kids suck the life right out of you and that the PTA does the same. Keep her.
The If you Have Nothing Nice to Say, Please Sit Next to Me Mom
I love this mother. I love her because she is the first one to stand up and actually point out to the PTA president that things will not work. She’s realistic and she’s brutally honest and she calls it as she sees it. She may or may not be a little catty and gossipy – not my favorite – but she is always on top of what she has to do because she’s efficient and she knows how to get things done. She’s the ideal candidate for president of the PTA, but she doesn’t have the time even though she could run that organization with her eyes closed half asleep like clockwork every single day.
You might want to befriend her simply because she probably has it in her to invite you for post meeting cocktails and that will be fun.
Photo by Getty Images
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