mothers on the verge

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 ...

It's astonishing how easy it is to turn into Suzy Homemaker when a woman has lots of time on her hands. Here I am in deepest France, slowly ballooning as I work my way through the contents of the local bakery and cook myself into oblivion with huge amounts of butter, cream, eggs and sugar. My culinary output this past week alone includes: Chicken and mushroom pie Breaded chicken escalopes in a tomato and mozerella sauce Home-made mayonnaise Bread and butter pudding with creme anglaise Coconut chicken curry Meatballs in tomato sauce Watermelon and raspberry smoothies plus about a million kiddie meals of toasted cheese sandwiches/ pasta and hot dog combos/ assorted veggies Tonight I'm making the very non-PC meal of veal in cream sauce, but hey, when in France... MM - what's happening to me? Am I turning into a (s)mother??? (am also getting through a vat of wine every night though, so maybe I am just turning in to a pig?)