The Popover Gals

I've debated for a long time over whether or not to blog about this as to an outsider it may seem...how do I say this?...very strange, or worse, not funny. But I've decided that I must bring our craziness out into the open.

I think it started with TJ impersonating a middle-aged woman. He lowered his voice in an I've-been-smoking-for-twenty-years sort of way, but yet still a bit femininely (a tinge of Martha Stewart, perhaps?), and said to Lauren, "Mimi, when are we gonna get the gals over to the house to make popovers with strawberry butter??"

Lauren answered, in the same voice, "Deb, I know. It really has been too long."

What started as TJ and Lauren having a fake conversation as Deb and Mimi has now blossomed into a full blown "Thing" at work. Every server and most of the hosts have their "middle aged names" along with deep voices only used in conversations with other "Popover Gals."

Esteban is "Barb," the 20-year-old host is "Margot," I'm "Connie" (I had to give a shout out to Diane Lane's character in Unfaithful...although if TJ found out the true reasoning behind this choice he'd probably force me to change it). In what has been the funniest name thus far, The Crazy Waiter has been dubbed "Clara Rose."

Yesterday TJ came up to me and said, "Connie, have you seen Clara Rose? She's been going to Curves three times a week and she looks fantastic!" And I replied, "Yeah I guess she looks good, but my jazzercise is much higher-impact."

The storyline is intact in TJ's mind (maybe I'll have him on here as a guest blogger to tell the tale in full). But it goes something like this...We are all 40-ish women who live in St. Louis. Every once in a while we gather at one of our homes to make popovers with strawberry butter and lament our fading marriages. Well, most of us are married. Some of us have kids. It's suspected that a few of us have lesbian tendencies. "I think back in college Fran and Helen experimented. I always thought they were a little awkward around each other."

"Margot, did you see that Costco is having a sale on those Weight Watchers yogurts? You better get down there."

....Oh it's all too much, really.