I was always the type of person that had friends. I was literally born with friends, and I’m using literally correctly. My mom and her best friend worked together at the hospital I was born in and they both delivered their first born daughters in the same room just two days apart. My best friend came into the world, left the room, my mom came into the room, and I entered the world. I was literally born with a best friend. It is hard to find a picture in my baby book that doesn’t have her in it.
Fast forward three years later, that friend is still in the picture and lives down the street, but yet another family moves in right behind my family. I happen to be playing in my backyard and see a little girl at the back fence. We say hello and I ask if she wants to be my friend. The rest is history.
Both those two girls stayed my best friends and stood up in my wedding, along with a couple other very close high school friends. Those friends are the ones that no matter how much time has passed, I can pick up the phone and start talking a mile a minute like I’m back in high school again. But, each of us are all at very different life stages and in different cities/states, which makes it hard to stay in touch as much as I would like.
Motherhood was something I knew I always wanted but I was unprepared for how lonely it was going to be. My husband is my best friend, but a different kind of best friend. Sure he’s an amazing companion and I can talk to him about anything, but I was longing for nights that I could relate on a different level with women who understood what I was going through as a woman, wife, and mom.
Working full-time outside the home leaves very minimal quality time during the week with my little ones at home, let alone my husband. I found myself stressing out more than enjoying the time I had with them. I realized that in order to be a happy mom, I needed to be a happy person.
Enter Detroit Moms Blog. I actually got involved for a totally different reason. I’ve always wanted to write a book (and still do in my spare time some day)! I wanted to start writing again and when I saw the opportunity to connect and write about this current stage of life of motherhood, it seemed perfect! I never expected to be introduced to such an outstanding group of women.
Finding this group has helped subside the motherhood loneliness. Even though so many of us are at different stages of motherhood, may do things differently, work or stay at home, we still relate on so many levels. More than anything, we laugh and have so much fun when we are all together. Sometimes in the craziness of motherhood, you need a hard laugh every once in awhile.
Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely still feelings of “mom guilt” every once in awhile. There have been long days at work where I come home for dinner and then leave just before bedtime to meet up with the girls. But, guess what, it only happens once in awhile and it is good for them to have that quality time with their dad and see that their mom has a life! The most refreshing part is how much better I feel coming back home to my mom life after venting to the brink of tears about difficult situations or “poop or chocolate” debacles. It’s a win-win for everyone.
So, what’s the moral of all this? Life changes. People change with it. Everyone ends up at different stages in life so try your best to be flexible and adapt. Find your group even if it feels hard and unnatural at first. You never know, you may just find your next best mom friend.
Have you been searching for mom friends? Someone to get through the trenches with? Check out our neighborhood groups for local Mom’s Night Out (MNO) events and play dates!
