Making Mommy Friends

Asheville Mommies at Halloween

I’ve moved around a lot.  Because of that I’ve struggled for years to make good friends.  I left Florida with only one friend that I’m still in constant contact with.  Even most of my friends from Pennsylvania have drifted away over the years.  Once I moved to North Carolina I found it even harder to make friends.  I don’t have much in common with the people in Asheville and have only managed to make a few good friends in the four years I’ve lived here. 

Then I had my daughter.  Being a mom compounds it in so many ways.  I want my daughter to be socialized and to have friends.  I struggled for the first 6 months.  I had very serious Post-Partum Depression but didn’t exactly realize it.  I really needed help and to get out of the house, but didn’t really know how to do either.  This was all made worse by the fact that I have no family here and mine had become extremely absent after I had my baby.  Maybe I just felt that way because I was depressed, but it was how I felt. 

Now I had a little girl to worry about.  I joined a local mommy group in an attempt to meet some people.  It was so hard to fit in with these women; I felt I had nothing in common with them.  It was weeks before I finally met my best friend who I have a lot in common with.  But even then, we felt like outsiders in this group and were not able to make any real friends other than each other. 

If you’re trying to make mommy friends I encourage you to do a Google search in your area and find a good one.  There are other resources as well.  Be sure to check out Meet-up to see if there are any groups in your area.  If you are looking for a community to talk to other moms in and ask questions then you should check out Mamapedia.  And if there is nothing good in your area, make your own group on Meet-up!  Other moms always need a place to go too.

Now I’m moving...  Again.  I have to do this all over.  I’m not a very social person and it’s hard for me to take those first steps to meet new people.  But I need to do it, because my daughter needs others kids to play with. 

So, I move forward to this new chapter of our life.  It’s going to be hard, but maybe I’ll meet a group of moms who are more accepting of who I am and therefore can make more than just one friend in this new area.  This is not a knock against my best friend at all, I am so happy that I met Mandy, but I would like a small group of friends in the new area so that Kaylee can have more than just one friend herself. 

Wish us luck as we pursue this new adventure into the great unknown.