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How to identify Dubai American Mom

There's something in the American character that turns them into a nation of die-hard have-a-go heroes. Dubai American Mom is no exception. She is seriously motivated, which makes her a hurricane of Mom-ness from dawn to dusk. Nothing fazes her - the Dubai traffic is a breeze, being woken up every day at 4am by the call to prayer is a doddle, even Ramadan was easy.

Whatever American Mom is doing - from packing little Brad's lunchbox to running the school PTA - she does it with fierce determination. Abandon hope all ye who have been targeted by American Mom; her zeal will pick you up and sweep you along, pleas for mercy falling on deaf ears, and before you know it you will be baking batches of 50 cup cakes for the latest fundraiser and pledging wholehearted allegiance to her cause. Woe betide anyone who dares not to match her in energy and enthusiasm for you will be named and shamed in a heartbeat, and your life at the school gates will never be the same again.

Apart from the fire burning in her eyes and the fact that she strides with purpose (no loafing around for the AM), you can identify American Mom by her daytime addiction to sports casual clothing and super-comfortable shoes. She always looks neat with her shirt tucked in and her hair in a low-maintenance yet immaculate style. 'Practicality' is her buzz-word. Hyper-organisation is her addiction. Her children are her mission. And she never fails at anything she sets out to do.

The only exceptions to the AM rule are New Yorkers, who tend to be much closer to Parisians in attitude and trump everyone else in the world when it comes to blondness, hairlessness and glossiness, and Californians who are much more laid back due to an overload of exercise and wheatgrass-smoothie induced endorphins. But these are an anomoly. AM usually rules.

AM makes all the other mothers look like shameless slacker ho's leading aimless lives. But you have to admire her. You have to like her. Because if it wasn't for the marvellous AM some other lazier nation would have to summon up the energy to organise the school disco, raise funds for the Eco Garden and bully the school into putting recycling bins in the carpark. And let's face it, all those aimless Europeans really like having enough free time for regular sessions in the manicurist's chair...

Comments

World said…
hi,
nice blog and interesting to read.
World said…
hi,
Similar interests, mutual respect and strong attachment with each other are what friends share between each other. These are just the general traits of a friendship.
To experience what is friendship, one must have true friends, who are indeed rare treasure.

I have added you to my blogroll, hope you can do the same thing for me so that we can have constant communication.
Anonymous said…
American Mom - hey, I know her. Americans have so much energy - comes from being hybrid. Give them a task and watch them go. Respect. But, don't get in their way or you will be squished. Follow their lead and you will be OK. That is why Uncle Sam Rules the World - OK!!!
Kate B. said…
Thanks Light.
Hi Anon, don't they just. A force to be reckoned with. I'm half Yank myself but sadly didn't get the energy bit, or the squishing bit. All I got was the passport which isn't that much of a gift these days. Sucks, huh.
Manhattan Mama said…
Hey all -- speaking as the American half here of the blog, and a hybrid New Yorker/Californian I can say with massive pride that I could never trump a Parisian, nor have ever allowed wheat grass to touch my lips. But I do try and make my hair appear somewhat ruly in the morning, and miss the Pacific surf. But yes, you may call me lazy too!

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