Friend #16

Today I met Marie. It's pronounced "Mare-ee"...cause she's french. Oh yes, she is one of those delightful, happy strawberry blonde-haired french people who speak like they are Nobel Prize winners with their beauty and intellect.
Mare-ee (and you HAVE to say it like that; If you don't, it will deminish her classiness, I swear) has an equally stunning 3-year-old daughter named Madeline who has tiny red lips, puffy cheeks to rival Shirley Temple's, and the dark brown curls to match. I met these two ladies at the Classy-Organic Park today. I call it the Classy-Organic Park because all of the families who play there come with Dad, Mom, and Children. Everyone. No babysitters or grandparents in sight. The parents feed their children organic snacks and juice boxes. They speak languages that aren't english to their children. They engage their children in educational opportunities at the drop of the hat, "What shape is the tire swing? Where are the clouds? What color is that duck?" I love this park because you never hear yelling or swearing (which runs rampant at most others in the area.) It's a family utopia. You can fish, play in the water jets, skateboard, jog, play baseball or tennis, grill, climb the 5 ft high rock wall or just visit with other cultured parents.
I heard little Madeline asking her mom for help on the Monkey Bars in french. An adorable little girl speaking french! After her mom helped her, I asked her if she was born in France, and indeed she was. Marie came to Connecticut to be an au pair for a family when she was 18. When her contract was over, she returned home and told her family that she was going to return to the U.S. for college. She attended UCLA and fell in love with her now-husband (yes, he was at the park also!). They moved to Tempe right after she got pregnant and she stays at home to raise little Madeline. Before mommyhood she was a college French professor and hopes to return to the classroom some day.
I complimented her on her choice to stay home with her child. I admire that. And she seems to be doing everything right. Next week she's going to start teaching Madeline spanish. After that, it'll be piano.
I need to move to France.