The Trailblazer Girls thing was a surprise hit with Dylan, I have to say. The uniform - a vest and khaki shorts - doesn't scream "Girly girl." The activities are not overly rugged - nature hikes, leaf-collecting, and that sort of thing. It feels like a good balance because I don't get the sense that Dylan was exactly the most outdoorsy kid, but it's clear there's still an impulse there to explore and get a little dirty. Which I'm in favor of.
Surprisingly, Kitty has taken to it, too. Trailblazers involves a little bit of parental participation, carpooling and organizing, and I'm surprised she didn't press me to handle it since she's working so much and I'm... not. She stands out as the lone "Trailblazer Dad" and gets kudos from the other Gals just for doing the exact same stuff as they do. Weird double standard there. But it seems to be scratching some of her itches, too, a need to be around "regular" women, get involved and plan things. I mean, almost every day one of us mentions how much it sucks that I ended up in the Party Planning business, and she's the one reporting for a 9-5 job Monday to Friday. I've never done one of those either but she seems to think it would help me cope. Sure, except for the part where none of it makes sense to me. (She'll never admit it, but I think HR is Kitty's secret talent - getting policies and procedures just right and getting up in peoples' business.)
I haven't spoken much about the job because, well... there just isn't much to tell. It's mostly taking calls and booking venues for fundraisers, with the other women doing all the heavy lifting. The office is all women, mostly the same age range as Judith - thirties and forties, all with kids, and that's pretty much all they talk about, and there is a lot of time to talk because business is slow.
I thought about getting a second job and even mentioned to Kitty that I could start driving with Thrio again. She was adamantly against that - "You're a woman now, you don't know what kind of sickos are out there." I like to think I could handle myself pretty well but it's likely not worth the trouble. And while back in the spring I would have taken the job just to spite her, nowadays I'm a bit more inclined to co-operate... if only for Dylan's sake. It's different when you have someone depending on you.
The ladies at work have a book club, which I kind of dropped out of on Judith's behalf when I became her. But maybe it's time to reconsider. It would get me out of the house every so often for an evening, keep my brain from getting stale from routine. I don't love hanging out with these women so much, but I'm not exactly in a position to be picky about my social circle right now.
-"Judith"
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