Parenting ain’t easy. You’ve gotta deal with diaper explosions, toughing out the middle-of-the-night wakeups, and doing the other necessary things to keep the kids alive. With the many parenting horrors we have to face, sometimes one smaller horror slips below our radars when venting — socializing. The next guest post in the Calling All Dorks series comes from Candy at GeekMamas.com, who does a great job of talking about socializing as a parent.
Let’s start this by being honest and saying I suck at this “mom friend” thing. It’s just like trying to make regular friends (not so great at that either) but harder because you probably have nothing else in common except your mom status.
* I do thankfully have friends who just happen to also be moms, but I’m talking about meeting new friends.
I started by joining mom groups on Facebook. I concentrated on one active one thinking, hey I’m making connections! But then I got kicked out, right on the day I was having a total mom breakdown because I hadn’t had much sleep in two days and K wouldn’t stop crying. Previously that week I had tried to do a meet-up at the zoo with them and totally failed finding the meeting spot and tried to be like, hey no big deal, we’ll just play here at the water park area. Apparently that was seen as “blowing them off.” See? I had no idea how horribly offensive I am.
I also joined a local place where kids can go and play, and in all the reviews it talks about how people just LOVE going there and have met SO MANY great mom friends! But unfortunately I have not met one other person in the 3 months we’ve been going there. Oh, I say hi and smile. Ask the obligatory “How old is he/she” while hoping I got the gender right because sometimes I can’t tell and that seems to be a conversation killer right there. Then we both go off running in separate directions to chase after our kids. And therein lies the problem. Even when I actually do meet up with another mom, we get maybe a few whole sentences in the span of a couple hours. I’m starting to suspect people who make mom friends have kids that stay still and aren’t trying to hurl themselves from the top of the jungle gym or throw toy cars over the fence.
Also, moms are busy. They are terribly hard to set up a date with and easily cancel due to a million different things. The more kids involved, the harder it is to meet up. And no matter where you met up, it’s like hanging out with someone with a severe case of ADD.
So maybe I am a little sad I never had that magical moment where your eyes meet across the playground and you become lifelong pals as your kids grow up together. (That’s how it happens, right?) But at least I’ve got my little buddy to keep me company so I’ll never be alone on the playground.
Be sure to check out Candy’s blog here.
You can read the first post in the Calling All Dorks series here. If you have a funny/dorky story that you’d like to see poorly illustrated, then send me an email at dorkymomdoodles@gmail.com. (Old posts are fair game.)
Want to connect on social media? You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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Just as kids are unique moms are too right! Let’s be that way . 🙂
Nice one!
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Indeed! Thanks 🙂
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I love both of you please move to my neighborhood yesterday.
That last Doodle is my EXACT pre-eclipse park date yesterday. 😂 I make sure to plan a minimum of two hours with my mom friends so we can be sure to get at least ONE full conversation in. We takes turns who gets to talk on which day. 🙃
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Hahaha, if only!
Lol, that so sad, but so accurate, that two hours are needed.
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The sandbox doodle!!! 😆
I don’t have kids but it’s a helpful (and funny!) reminder of why it can be tricky to make plans with my friends who are SupeeMoms.
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Momming ain’t easy 😉
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Which is why I have 3 adult children and only one girlfriend (a girl I’ve known since high school but who I lost connections with while our kids were growing up and only reconnected with when THEY were in high school and didn’t need us anymore)! Great post!
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Lol! I’m in the same boat — I only have one pre-kids friend, who happens to be my bestie. Thanks!
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Omg the face in the jungle gym one. It’s like you were there! Lol
I love this so hard 😁
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I’m glad you like it 😀 (And why must kids torture us like that?!)
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Made three excellent, probably lifelong mommy friends over the course of… seven years. Made friends, maybe not close or lifelong, with three others. I tell you what every single one of them has in common — they have as many, if not more kids than I do and they are all women who are comfortable with themselves, their relationship status, and their acknowledgement that none of us are the same person, none of us parent the same kids, and there is no one right answer. #ittakesavillage
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That sounds great, hard to find that openmindness most of the time.
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Yes. Like, one every 14 months, maybe… if the timing and the proximity is juuuuuuust riiiiight.
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The struggle is real 😂
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Indeed!
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I’ve just been in a pissing contest on a local momblog Facebook page thingy about the virtues – or not – of smocked baby clothes. I’m generally anti-smock, due to price and practicality, but I have offended many mamas with my anti-smockness. Who knew?
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Lol! I also offended when I declined to get that stuff for BG. Forget price, I think those clothes are fugly. And why people dress kids in elementary school in that stuff is beyond me.
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I suppose they’re cute if your life’s purpose is to recreate Steel Magnolias. I have better stuff to do.
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hilarious! thanks for the laughs. I needed that and definitely be sharing this with my wife
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I’m glad you liked it!
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Great insight to moms making friends.
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Love this post. All my mom friends are my friends from before I had my daughter and of course I was the last of them to have children. We don’t hang out much because on top of my ADHD my kid sends that shit into complete overdrive and my meds forget what the hell they are supposed to be doing and everything goes to shit. Me and my mini me just loose our shit every where lol. Hard to make friends when you
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It’s hard to make mom friends when you are constantly losing your shit in public. I feel like the craziest mom in the world throwing my own damn tantrums lol. Love your post! Mom friends are awesome if they can lose their shit with you and offer an adult beverage to calm you down.
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Aw lol! Every mom has been there, we all have our breaking points! A mom friend with booze is def worth keeping 😉
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LOl! Absolutely! I just wish I had more mom friends, or more booze, or maybe more mom friends WITH more booze lmao!!! As if I ever allow myself free time 😦
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