Lately, there’s been posts and articles circulating on social media about how parenting today takes place in isolation. The general notion of these pieces is that modern parenting is comprised of “play dates” and “helicopter moms,” a far cry from the community approach of the parental generations that came before us. Sure, times have changed and with it, so has parenting. Maybe some moms do feel isolated by modern parenting. But for me, parenting brought me some of my very best friends.
There’s a lot of Moms that I don’t fit in with: Football Moms, PTO Moms, Have-Their-Stuff-Together Moms, Pinterest Moms; the list goes on and on. When my oldest started school, I had no idea how to fit into this Mom Culture. At the playground, I smiled at other moms and said hello, but I wasn’t one to strike up a conversation about the bake sale or gossip about whose husband was sleeping with who. Which was fine, life went on as normal. I had a life, a job, and friends. And then something cool happened: my kid started making friends. Some of his friends’ parents I had seen around and some I hadn’t. They were all nice enough, but some were downright awesome. Ever meet someone that is YOUR kind of person? They get your sense of humor, being around them is effortless. My kid somehow befriended kids with parents who were my people.
The day we moved into our house, we were taking a break from unpacking when a kid ran across our front yard, yelling my son’s name. We unknowingly moved next door to one of his school friends. His parents ended up being our best friends. As in, we have matching necklaces. And matching sneakers. And we text every day. We text a lot, every day.
Mom Friends are different than any other kind of friend because there’s an added layer of connection. Of course, my childhood friends, my college friends, and my work friends are all important to me. But Mom Friends have an added layer of connection; a shared experience of parenting.
I wouldn’t have survived the last few years without my Mom Friends. They texted me reminders about Picture Day and Little League Registration when they knew I had pregnancy brain. They get my son off the bus when I’m stuck at work later than expected (realistically this is at least once a week). It still takes a village to raise a child and man, my village is awesome.
My Mom Friends are always there to listen to my vent; to laugh about catching each other taking selfies in the good lighting in the school parking lot, and to have a movie night or game night or Mommy-needs-a-break night. Most importantly, they are my people. They are Football Moms, PTO Moms, Team Moms, Have-Their-Stuff-Together Moms, Forgot-to-Pack-Snacks Moms, Chaperoning-the-Field-Trip Moms, Pinterest Moms, and Scrollin’-FB-at-the-Playground Moms. They are snarky, sarcastic, hard-working, loving, involved, silly, tired, energetic, passionate, dedicated, brilliant, and downright hilarious.
When I think about the people that I turn to the most, the people who make me laugh, the people who I want to always be around; I think of my Mom Friends. Thanks to my kid for having friends with awesome parents, for having an active role in cultivating his own village, and for picking me the very best friends.
