Tuesday 8 January 2013

Oh the places you'll go, there is fun to be done!

Today I made a start on making a new friend (Item 100 on my list).  Oh, I know that it isn't a scientific sort of thing and I can't one day go, 'hey, I've moved you from acquaintance to friend!' because we're not in primary school anymore and labels are bad.  But I digress.

I'm the sort of girl ( aside: can you still be a girl if you're a mum, or is it 'woman' now?) who finds it difficult to talk to people I don't know and to lead the way in starting something new.  I mean, what if they don't like me, or I say something stupid for example?  But somehow, being a mummy changed that.  Maybe it was having to get used to having just my own company while I stay at home with Ellie.  Maybe it was completely losing all my dignity in that delivery room and realising that really, we all come into the world the same way and other people aren't that scary.  Maybe it's the fact that babies need so much care and to get that, you need to a) deal with all kinds of people - doctors, nurses, checkout operators etc and b) get over your pride and accept help if it's offered. Whatever, I've had to get over my hangups pretty darn quick because there is a tiny human now who is counting on me to look after her and make sure she grows up to be a decent human being.

To help with that, and to save my sanity, I joined a mothers group and let me tell you, it's been a godsend for when I can't sleep and need someone else to talk to. Or when I'm not sure I'm doing something right and need confirmation that it's normal. Or even just to compare developmental milestones (and hey, maybe brag a little that my baby was the first to sleep through the night!!).  Usually we meet as a group in a park or at some one's home.  But Mr Fork went back to work yesterday, and Ellie was grizzly with only me for company.  So when this girl asked what I was doing, I took a giant step and met her on my own today (well, with our babies in tow) for a coffee.  And it was nice.  She didn't eat me.  I didn't say anything stupid or walk away with food stuck between my teeth (I checked later). And I even signed up to the same baby swim class as her so that I'd know someone else.

I love the friends I have but as the first in our group to have a baby, it's also super nice to meet new people who know exactly what I'm going through.  And can I just say, thank god for being able to have coffee again!

No comments:

Post a Comment

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...