Super mom?

I was recently at a homeschooling field trip and I noticed a couple of things. #1: There are some marked similarities among women who are with their kids most of the time. #2: There are two types of mothers, those who think they are super mom and do it all well, and those who know they aren't super moms and do everything adequately.

#1 The similarities I observed were the following. We are all so happy to be among other homeschoolers. It's like we have been without water for days and we are suddenly thrust into a room full of chilled water bottles and electrically cooled water in water coolers. We will talk to anyone who has a child in tow and looks like a mother. We are bonded by an unspoken understanding of how crazy we have chosen to be. We are all open and willing to talk about problems we are having with our homeschooled child. We are willing to admit our short comings and are hungry to hear someone say, "Oh, yeah I've been there. You will come out of this phase too."
The next similarity was our kids are extremely well behaved. In the room nearby is another field trip with public school kids. They are out of control. The faculty assigned to that group looks overwhelmed. We have 48 kids and they are quietly waiting instruction and following what they are told to do. Is it because they are homeschooled, or because the mothers in the room hold a power over these students that only a mother can hold? It's a toss up, but there is definitely a hushed awe as the mothers notice the comparison between the two groups. Maybe we are beyond crazy.
The way we dress is also similar. Most of us still care about our appearance and have not yet, ventured into the world in our pajamas, but we take a lot of short cuts. Some have their hair done nicely, but most of us have our hair twisted up in a cute clip. Our hair still looks clean and tidy, and the clip says, "Yes, I did put some effort into my hair today." But we all know it took less than 60 seconds to do this hair do. (Not counting the washing and drying which took place the night before). Everyone still wears makeup, but we have all mastered how to look like we spent sometime on our face, but we all have the knowledge that we can look "sufficiently" made up in less than 30 seconds. We all still look OK in our jeans that aren't quite "Mom" jeans, and our long t-shirts hanging stylishly out from under our Kohl's special hoodies from the jr. department, exclaim "Yes, I still care about fashion." The exact look of tiredness mixed with joy is a combination that is saved for new mothers and those of us who were crazy enough to homeschool our children.

And as for observation #2, my homeschooling buddy Kim said it best, "I want to be a super-mom, but I am more like "Just-Barely-Keeping-It-Together-Mom." I think that is exactly how we all feel, if we are smart enough to admit it.