Being a Mom. A Short Story.

When I became a mom, it was the greatest unexpected joy I could have ever imagined.  Honestly though, it was joy, amidst diapers and tiredness and a crying baby and having my life now revolve around someone incredibly tiny but incredibly amazing.

By the time Ellee came around, I had hit a good stride of motherhood.  I had an easy two year old and a newborn baby girl, and life was busy, but good.  (By the way, that easy two year old would decided his “terribles” would come at three and that made life increasingly more interesting to say the least.)  In those earlier years, I remember enjoying our kids but also having times of loneliness since my family and my sisters and their kids were in Michigan and I didn’t have a lot of friends that were in the same boat that I was at the time.

Then came the school years.  When Christian started Kindergarten, life changed again.  During that time, I worked part time at a preschool and was able to expand my horizons a bit more.  I remember loving my time with Ellee and looking forward to being with Christian when he came home from school.

And then a few years later, we walked them both off to school.  And I cried on that first day.  Because now life had shifted again, and it was another chapter of something new.

All throughout these years, I’ve definitely valued the friendships I’ve found, and especially the friendships I’ve found in other moms.

It’s been fun to have those friendships coordinate with play dates, especially ones that involve food.

I’ve especially appreciated the friendships that I’ve had that have challenged me and encouraged me to grow.  My friend, Laura Conely, was one of those kinds of friends.  She was always so fun and always ready for an impromptu get together. She valued time spent together and this is something that has always stuck with me.  She ended up moving back to the Midwest.  And we’ve had quite a few friends that have moved since we’ve been on Long Island.

Friendships, and Mom friendships are so important, I believe.

Because as Moms, we’re all in the same boat.  We all want the best for our kids, we all want great relationships for ourselves and we all need encouragement.  Being a mom is hard, and wonderful at the same time.

And I guess, I’m writing this short story to say that we were never meant to walk this road of motherhood alone.  But after reading a thought provoking article the other day, I’ve realized that many times, we do feel alone.  Being a mom can be isolating at times.  Maybe we have little ones and staying home with them is easier than venturing out.  Maybe we’re in the middle stages, where we keep busy, but it’s running here and there and getting our kids to any number of different activities.  We see friends in passing, but struggle to find the time to have meaningful relationships together.  And maybe we’re just in the Jr. and Sr. High school years, where face it, being a mom is really hard, but since no one posts the really hard things on Facebook, it feels like we’re all alone.

And so my short story would end like this.  If you’re a mom, and you’re looking for a group of friends that you can relate too.  That you can share with.  That you can encourage and get encouragement from.  I have just the group for you.  It’s a Mom’s Group and it will meet the second and fourth Tuesday morning of the month, at 9:30am.  It’s totally open, and it’s purpose is to offer support and friendship for Moms in all stages.  We’ll meet at our house (we are close to Eastport Elementary) and we start next week, March 24th.

And YOU are invited.  If you have any questions, please feel free to Facebook message me or email: lauraherr8@gmail.com.  I would love to have you join me.  Let’s do this journey together.

Photo credit:  My awesome husband, Jeremy Herr.