Playgroup a Go-Go

Sigh. I don't know what it is. Sometimes I think I must have lost my Mom's Club ID. I mean, I've got the kid and everything, but I was sent home from the hospital without the secret handshake or something. Why is it so hard to meet other Moms?

I've gone from a job I had for nearly 10 years of my life, to the life of a SAHM in The Kingdom of the Toddler. It's a life that has its joys, don't get me wrong. But I KNOW there are other people living here, and I'll be darned if I can find them some days.

We've been bouncing between two playgroups. Playgroup A: smaller, great leaders, am finally starting to feel recognized, like I belong and likewise for Daniel. We are recognizing in turn other Moms and kids, conversations are starting to feel more natural... things are just sort of progressing nicely where I can feel some relationships starting to widen and expand a little. It feels good. Since they have been between sessions, they are operating on "drop-in" time - which means plenty of opportunities to visit. We are about to swing into a regular session, which will limit available time outside of your "scheduled" playgroup.

We keep trying Playgroup B: larger space, more kids of a wider age range, loads of stuff to do. The most I can seem to bring myself to say is: The leader is nice. Daniel had fun. And I always leave there mildly discouraged. For such a larger group, you'd think there would be at least a Mom or two a bit more welcoming. Instead I feel in sort of a clique-y junior high, where Moms are in various states of watching and not watching their kids. This includes the charmer who was taking big mouthfuls of the rice that was in the sensory table for the kids to play in, while Mom was busy chatting about her shopping elsewhere.

H thinks I need to cut my losses and start looking elsewhere. I think I agree, but this is hard.