Mommies Playgroup One nice summer morning back in 2007, I went over to a lady's house in the Oakmont section of town for a playgroup set up by a mothers support network. I had met the playgroup ladies, all with 1 year old sons like me, a few times previous at other events. I was looking forward to some adult interaction with people in my same boat. I'd say Lucas was looking forward to it too, judging by his insane amount of drooling and valiant attempts at escape. I walked up the steps to the beautiful stone house just when the other moms and babies arrived. Inside, we put the babies down. I could swear I heard "Release the hounds!" as those adorable little monsters attacked every toy, cabinet, piece of furniture and architectural molding in sight. Once those piranhas were safely penned in, the adults settled into the kitchen. I was the last one to peel off my progeny and get over the baby gate. When I arrive on the other side, a full glass of red wine was waiting for me. It was 10 a.m. It's Drink O'Clock All I could think of was the Mr. Mom scene. Isn't there some rule about not drinking before noon or something? I soon came to realize that Havertown has replaced "None before noon" with "It's 5 o'clock somewhere!" When we moved out here to Havertown in 2000, I was woefully unaware of the Drinking Habits of The Typical Suburban Adult Female. I grew up in the Poconos with a teetotaling mother and a father who'd go right to sleep after just one glass of wine. We didn't see much alcohol use or abuse in our neighbors or friends' parents. Some teens would drink, obviously, but not us. My brothers are both teetotalers still. Me... well not so much. As many a Havertown mom friend of mine knows, I'm no stranger to a glass or two of wine. But the levels of drinking in the 'burbs really threw me. I figured that if anywhere, people in the isolated  areas of the Poconos would be heavier drinkers than these suburbanites. And after living in Philly for 7 years, I thought … [Read more...]