Meetup.com

About two years ago in the throes of new motherhood I needed to reach out and find some "new mother" friends.  I needed people to learn from, commiserate with, workout with, do everything with.  How does a person go about making new friends?  Plus, I wanted Jaclyn to have a "playgroup".  You know, kids she would see regularly and learn to know as her first friends, even before preschool.

I learned about a website called meetup.com where people create meetup groups based on shared interests or philosophies right within your own city or town or neighborhood.  I perused the site, worried about how to know if I would click with strangers, how would I be received?  I found a group that called themselves The Staying Active Mommy Club.... I thought, "Ah, people I can exercise with; people who care about staying healthy and fit".  And it looked like the group was comprised of mostly first time moms with babies born earlier in the same year as Jaclyn.  Boy did I luck out!  I have since heard stories from other moms about not clicking with a different group, or other groups being full of drama right out of high school, or groups comprised of girls who seem too young to be moms, etc.  I found an incredible group with many members who made me feel welcome right from the start.  And finding a group with kids that were just a little older than Jaclyn really worked out to our advantage because I was getting great advice from people who had just been through whatever stage we were entering.  And as the two years have gone by, Jaclyn has been advancing in language and ability as she's learned to keep up with these slightly older friends.

I am one of those ridiculously lucky moms with a super adorable smart and funny kid whom I get to spend tons of time with doing fun things.  And I have made a bunch of new friends in the process.  It's an embarrassment of riches!

Recent photo of only some of my mommy group friends

What kind of meetup group would you join or start?  Get out there, make new friends!