Everyone says it takes a village to raise your children. And the village you pick is by far the most important one because the people you surround your child and your self with will have an impact also. As a new mom it is extremely hard to find new friends. I say new because we all know that after you have a child, even your old friendships change. It's hard to FaceTime or make time for phone calls since your life is now consumed by your own kid(s). And then add covid to the mix...what a mess. It was such a weird time to even know when to take your baby out in public and how to socialize in this new phase of the world.
Luckily in Colorado the outdoors were welcomed by all, but still everyone kept their distance. I was searching on google, as I usually do, and came upon My Gym. It was a teacher led class for littles and their parents to have them socialize, enagage in gymnastic activities, and build up their confidence. Honestly everything about this class had me sold. The first day it was an adjustment. All the parents were mandated to wear masks, which is fine, but it also keeps people from truly socializing. I think the hardest part about covid was reading peoples emotions; facial cues say a lot 😂. But slowly everyone started chatting and amazing friendships were made. Not only did we meet two other families that the parents got along, we also had babies the same age.
Play dates and gatherings became a thing and after a year of getting to know each other we started our very own girls night. The girls night was truly all orchestrated by one of our friends and she's great at keeping us accountable and making this into a monthly thing. I brought a long my neighbor to one of our girl nights, and now she's also part of the group. Another year goes by and we've added another mom to the group! What's even nicer is that all the dads also get along and they now have their own guys night.
In the mixt of the chaos, I think most people forget how important it is to have adult social interactions or time away from your spouse or the time to just vent to other moms and feel heard. The beauty of this group is that we are all woman supporting each other through tough moments, tough conversations, and we are here to cheer each other on and bring humor to the daily routine. I can't speak for everyone in the group, but I feel like for me this group of people really help me through these moments and everyone handles life differently and it's really nice to hear different perspectives. We all have different backgrounds and work structure, and we still can all relate and be heard.
And don't get me wrong, my best friends that live afar are a huge part of my life and when we do have the opportunity to catch up it's an endless amount of fun, but it is so nice to have that kind of friendship in person and those that our kids can also play together and already have best buddies. We have a total of 12 kids in the group and more on the way!
So if you are reading this and feel like you are missing this kind of group in your life, find a class or put yourself out there in meeting other moms. I know it may be scary and out of 10 moms you talk to, there may only be one you connect with, but in the end it will be completely worth it! And you never know what will happen until you try 😊
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