It's a playdate
Firstborn Son has a playdate today and I love to see hiim so excited and happy to hang with his school friends. What I like better is I get along with his friend's mom too. It's funny how you kind of have to dance around the other parents in your child's school and make friends with them too. The kids make friends so easily. Me? Not so.
I was never a social butterfly to begin with, but I have had to force myself to step up and be more outgoing once I became a parent.
I was never a social butterfly to begin with, but I have had to force myself to step up and be more outgoing once I became a parent.
In the sleepless, early days, I could hardly mutter a hello to the bright-eyed moms and dads on the playground. Instead, I talked almost exclusively to my little infant in his carrier: "Oh, it IS a nice day to be out, isn't it? Are you warm enough? Is the wind tickling your face?" I also felt so inadequate dressed in my milk-stained sweatshirt and pants. I felt every other parent was doing a better job than I.
Oh, but I loved discovering another mom was going through anything I was going through. Thank goodness I had a couple of friends who had babies within months of me. The times we were able to get out of the house, packed with 10 tons of baby gear, our conversations and commiserating were panacea to my bleary soul. "Follow your instinct and try and relax," was the best advice I got from a friend.
Once Joseph started preschool, he gravitated toward two classmates and it was easy to like those children's moms. We saw each other everyday and invited each other to our little ones' birthday parties, and we didn't demand much of each other. We found a lot in common and learned from each other, and that's still true today. It was hard to make new "mom friends" when Joseph started kindergarten in a new school. And although he skated in quite nicely into his class, I had to make more of an effort to smile at other parents and work on having conversations with them. This time, I was thankful there are outgoing, friendly parents in Joseph's school who help me feel more comfortable in a new school and a new community.
I'm liking this little village more and more.
Oh, but I loved discovering another mom was going through anything I was going through. Thank goodness I had a couple of friends who had babies within months of me. The times we were able to get out of the house, packed with 10 tons of baby gear, our conversations and commiserating were panacea to my bleary soul. "Follow your instinct and try and relax," was the best advice I got from a friend.
Once Joseph started preschool, he gravitated toward two classmates and it was easy to like those children's moms. We saw each other everyday and invited each other to our little ones' birthday parties, and we didn't demand much of each other. We found a lot in common and learned from each other, and that's still true today. It was hard to make new "mom friends" when Joseph started kindergarten in a new school. And although he skated in quite nicely into his class, I had to make more of an effort to smile at other parents and work on having conversations with them. This time, I was thankful there are outgoing, friendly parents in Joseph's school who help me feel more comfortable in a new school and a new community.
I'm liking this little village more and more.
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