Making friends as an adult is worse than dating.
The most awkward thing about any situation is placing two introverted adults together who are desperately trying to find one thing in common with a minimal amount of small talk. One would think as a Mom making friends gets easier because hey you both wrangle a small human(s) in some form or fashion right? Not so much.
Making mom friends – when you’re an introvert – is a challenge.
I am a first time mom and have a beautiful two month old daughter and the realization is starting to hit me that I am the first of my friends to have a baby. Although, many couples we know are in the process of trying. We are out on a limb here hoping we get it right and I’m counting on my significant other to help keep me sane. So I set a goal for myself:If I’m out on a limb with this whole parenting thing I might as well break out of my comfort zone and try to make some friends.
So who wants to have an mommy play date (no kids allowed)?
If only it were that easy.
I am an introvert so making friends has never been that easy for me and as I’ve become an adult it’s something that has gotten harder not easier. Socially there is just so much judgement around parenting and marriage. I find that, as a mom and wife, I go into each situation filtering topics in hopes to receive less judgement from the other party.
The truth is you can’t make friends that way. At least not true friends because you are portraying this fake persona that eventually will break apart.
We, as a society AND as mothers, need to stop hiding or “mom shaming” and welcome each other with open arms because we are all just figuring it out as we go right?
Oh? Just me? 🙂
Okay I’m off my soap box; back to the topic at hand:
how does an introvert make friends?
In an age of social media, why not use it to our advantage? There are so many resources out there groups for baby-wearing mommas and moms obsessed with Ryan and Rose and even local resources!
For example, I joined the Corpus Christi La Leche group on Facebook since I am Breast-feeding my little one. I even worked up the courage to go to a meeting and, although I didn’t make my new best friend {Sidebar: I’ve been checking missed connections on Craigslist just in case.}, it was so refreshing to talk with other moms and ask questions in a safe place. Yes, it gave me anxiety to walk into that meeting with my little one but it was so rewarding and I ended up walking out with so many recommendations to help me breastfeed and feel more confident as a mother. That is what we as moms should be doing: creating a space where we make each other feel more confident.
In my search for more resources in the coastal bend area I stumbled across Corpus Christi Moms Blog and knew that all of the resources and articles they offer is the perfect place to branch out and meet other mommas.
So here I am branching out and writing about this amazing journey of motherhood and hopefully I’ll make some friends along the way.
