Nelly Vs. Laura

I was always thrilled as a child to come across a character, whether in a book or on t.v or in a movie that I could relate to. Of course, when I was little, I didn't know what you called that feeling. All I knew was, "Hey, I'm not the only one who feels or looks or acts this way. That's good." I first felt that reading Heidi when I was ten or eleven. She was a misfit who sort of irritated people. I could relate to that. But Laura Ingalls was the best. I admit I never read the Little House books, but I watched every episode of the t.v series thanks to my Gaga, Lucille, who was also a fan of misfit little girls. What made Laura so appealing to me was that her nemesis, Nelly, perfectly embodied every little girl that I hated, and Laura could always think of the right comeback for Nelly on the spot, whereas I could never think of anything biting enough for my little enemies. I hated Nelly, not because she was so nasty, but because she was so perfect. The perfect rolled hair, the frilly dresses, the manners. Nelly had everything. Nelly, it seems, has been around my whole life, showing up in different places. In elementary school she was a chubby little girl named Kyle. In middle school it was a whole pack of rats who in the seventh grade all dyed their hair the same strawberry blond color and made it one of their goals in life to make me miserable, mostly by making fun of my clothes, every single day. Now a days it's the super moms at story time, with their Eddie Bauer strollers and their exclusive Summer Grove playgroups, which by the way, I'm not invited to. These super moms seem to have everything, and I get an unsettling feeling whenever I'm around them, that they are doing everything right, and I am doing everything wrong. Living in my little bitty house is wrong, letting my kids play in the dirt in their underwear is wrong, feeding them hot dogs and KoolAid is wrong, driving them around in a 95 Rodeo is wrong. Handing their clothes down in wrong. But not too long ago, I started getting over my lifelong desire to either become Nelly or at least become her friend. Because if you remember, Nelly's little facade of perfection never held up through an entire episode. She usually wound up throwing herself across her frilly little bed and sobbing pathetically. And most of the Nelly's over in Summer Grove are holding up their facade through over extended credit lines and Valium. Now a days I want to be surrounded by real moms, no super moms, no props please. Moms who flip out occasionally (and say bad words) or Moms who accidentally fart during Bible study. Moms who's teenagers love her so much they still want to sit in her lap (even after she said the bad word). I don't need a super mom encouraging me to "do better". I need a real mom who makes me feel like I'm doing just fine. And God has put those women in my life and I love them so much. Yall know who you are, thanks for keeping it real.