Oddball

So I'm sitting at my daughter's dance class tonight, intermittently reading Middlemarch (still not grabbing me, especially with discordant snatches of competition and recital songs blaring out of each of the rooms) and re-stringing a lei into a hei (headpiece) and bracelet (Meli Kaliki Maka anyone?) when I realize what an oddball I must look like. I am one of the few moms of a child as old (!) as nine, who sits in the studio for the duration of all her classes. Just imagine how much else I could get accomplished in those hours (and I definitely do mean hours if you look at her weekly schedule) if I didn't stay. I originally stayed because I was not completely comfortable leaving my child essentially in the care of strangers. Now that I know all or most of the other parents, I might be convinced to leave her there if she was comfortable. But she says she isn't comfortable if I'm not there despite the fact that I am always busy reading or whatnot instead of watching the dancing. Isn't that par for the course? She's always been a velcro child so I guess I shouldn't be surprised by her reaction to my suggestion that I leave her and do errands while she's dancing. I think the thought of how little Christmas shopping I've accomplished so far has warped my brain because I actually thought that maybe her own cell phone would help her be more confident in being left at the studio. Am I on crack? Contemplating giving my kid a cell phone just so I can shop (or read in the comfort of my own home). I must be losing it!