This Little Piggy
I had the privilege of spending two days last week at the middle school, assisting with the seventh grade African mask project. Not only was I able to spy on my son and the many girls who send him text messages at all hours of the day and night, but I was able to get to know a few of the moms better.
Our conversations ran the gamut. We discussed the SAT, a teacher who drives our kids insane, the basketball and soccer teams, fun vacations, and toenails at Disney.
Actually on the latter conversation I was an innocent bystander. Three moms started talking about trips to Disney (I was all ears–Sally is begging to go to Disney!). From there the conversation went like this:
…and the GROSSEST thing is the women who wear sandals and don’t paint their toes!
I know! Can you believe?? I have to pass them, like, FIFTEEN times in line, and I’m saying, “WOMAN! FOR THE SAKE OF EVERYONE ELSE, PAINT YOUR TOES!”
It’s disgusting! Don’t they know other people have to look at their feet? Eeeeeew!!
Who in their right mind would make people look at that?
I felt my safely hidden toes curl up in my close-toes shoes. I have proudly worn Birkenstocks all spring and summer for years, and unless Sally forces me or I get a wild hair, my toes remain proudly unpainted. I always knew people around here didn’t think my toenails looked particularly cute. But I had no. idea. that in their eyes I might as well be picking my nose and eating it in public.
The voices inside my head were screaming Have you people never been outside of this country? No, outside of the South? No, wait, in a big city?? Do you realize that you, in your “high society” mindset are actually screaming your extreme ignorance? You might as well be saying, “Hello, my name is Mrs. S. and I have never stepped foot outside of my small town, except to go shopping in Birmingham. I have no idea how the rest of the world thinks, and I love displaying my ignorance within the small-minded circle of friends who also think life revolves around our itty-bitty country club and getting our names in the local newspaper.”
Thankfully those voices were not audible. So nobody knows what I think. Yeah, right.
Come spring, I’ll be walking around with my despicable, unpainted piggies, proudly displaying my ignorance of small-southern-town decorum.
February 4th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Ah! I so know the mindset you are talking about! It so irks me…
I grew up in a town like that and when I went back for my high school reunion it was scary. I was glad I had recently had a baby and my legs and toes were covered in tennis shoes because I was as white as a sheet in October and my toenails hadn’t been painted since before my son was born, I think. Most of my girlfriends who still lived in town all had tans (some real, some fake), highlights, painted nails and wore makeup just to be on a parade float! We were all wearing t-shirts and jeans but one old girlfriend who shall remain nameless actually had on a cute patterned belt to match the shirt and some fancy sandals. Oh, and the popular ones all wore cute little black dresses to the homecoming assembly that morning! I apparently didn’t get the memo, because I was one of the un-cool ladies in pants and a nice top. Oh, well.
April 15th, 2008 at 8:45 am
[…] you remember a while back when I posted about the conversation I overheard about people with unpainted toenails? Well, apparently feet are more than a tiny […]