LsOL Make the (School) World Go Round

  I'm just back from the annual year-end lunch to thank all the volunteers (a.k.a. LsOL who rule the school). I have to marvel at this group. Skinny, smart and super fundraisers, able to stock the coffers like Sarah Palin on steroids.
  As a slide show chronicled a year's worth of good works, it was clearer than ever that a LOL's contributions go way beyond the lunch circuit. Without these women, and it is overwhelmingly women, so much would be missing in the life of the school and its students. A few work full-time, as I did until recently even as I squeezed in volunteer work, but the bulk of the heavy lifting is done by LsOL, who obviously are not living all that leisurely if they're spending hours on planning and executing auctions, book fairs, tennis days and more.
  PTAs at these Main Line schools (both private and public) are really small businesses that handle hundreds of thousands of dollars and make the difference between a great educational experience and an outstanding one for not only the students but the parents as well. They create logos, design T-shirts, dream-up centerpieces, put together marketing plans, drum-up advertising and then make sure the whole event goes off without a hitch. Pretty commendable, no?
  So here's to all those LsOL who pass up R&R to make their children's schooldays brighter. I only hope I can follow in your Jimmy Choos.

The Business of Motherhood

  The minute you enter Tango in Bryn Mawr, you know you've arrived at one of the the top Main Line LOL lunch spots. The noon hour brings a steady stream of middle-aged women, hair highlighted just so, all dressed to lunch in casual elegance. A few are accompanied by Lords of Leisure in blazers and open-collared shirts, faces sporting golf-course tans. The decor is dark and moody, capturing that Orient Express sensibility.
  I was there to meet another mom, a veteran of the LOL lifestyle. It was the LsOL equivalent of a business lunch. Talk was heavily focused on the children, deep analysis and short- and long-range strategies for school and life success -- all over broccoli rabe and roasted pear. Motherhood has become the profession for a new generation of well-educated women. My friend is a psychologist. Other LsOL are physicians, lawyers, marketing executives. Smart women who need to put all that intellect toward something. And that something is the family and the PTA.
  As an on-the-cusp Baby Boomer, I'm catching the tail end of the generational shift toward Pro Momhood. Now it's abundantly clear why those exercise classes are so necessary -- to keep us Pro Moms fit for the job. And, perhaps, to save us from smothering (interesting that it contains the word mothering) our children to death.

Sl-o-o-w is Fast Becoming a Trend

  Here's to the slow movement (http://www.trendcentral.com/WebApps/App/SnapShots/Article.aspx?ArticleId=7731).
  More of us are yearning to slow down the pace of life. Take the time to see an art exhibit, relax over a sipped drink (no more chugging) and -- STOP THE PRESSES!!! -- enjoy the Sunday newspaper, says Trendcentral.
   Let's add take a yoga class instead of power aerobics and read a novel all afternoon over the tweet feed. LsOL are trendy, not that we ever doubted it.

Don't Judge a LOL by What She Wears

 It's easy to get caught up in the perfect Spandex look. Today was bliss: new Under Armour black jacket, Fila gray capris and Adidas yellow and moss green workout top that matched my gray and green sneaks -- my first truly put-together look for the gym. OK, I know I mixed labels. But still.
  But I digress. LsOL also like to read. Really. This morning a roomful met for our monthly book club. It would be hard to find a better-read group of women. I'm still playing catch-up. One gift of leisurehood is time to read and not just the kid's required books for English class, but for yourself.
  So what do LsOL read? This month was the Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. It's a sweet mystery read, appealing to adults but a perfect recommendation for tweens who enjoy a strong female heroine, that being Flavia De Luce, 11 years old and Super Detective.
  This group  takes a hiatus over summer -- there is the Shore, after all, and for many of these LsOL, Shore houses. (Not yours truly, however.) But our summer stimulation will be The Millennium Series by
the late Stieg Larsson. I've already started The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and am riveted. Hope to finish it in time to catch the flick at the Bryn Mawr Theater. But that could be challenging. This isn't a beach read. It's more of a rainy day, stay in bed with the covers up kind of story. Perfect for a LOL.

What Comes After Menopause?

  My first freelance piece since The Transformation began:
  http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/94229254.html#axzz0oNv0aqkn.
  Now would a true LOL go to one of these shows? Or are they too low-brow?

Close Encounters of the LOL Type

  I had a classic LOL encounter yesterday. I was in the Acme mid-afternoon -- a very LOL time of day to be restocking the frig, by the way. I ran into another mom from school. Both of us had on our capris and spring tops -- dressed way too nicely to be grocery shopping. But that's the LOL way when no office beckons.
  We did discuss business -- of the PTA kind. I'm taking on publicity chair for next year. It should put my J-school skills to good use.

A Parking Spot to Die For

Did you hear about this very cool garage in Center City Philly? Now a LOL could get used to that. Alas, one has to live at 1706 Rittenhouse Square Street. But we can dream, at least.

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/technology/93384684.html