Finding My People

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             Have you ever heard people talk about “finding their people”? I always thought this was some cheesy, mushy load of crap...until recently. I think I finally get it now...

             As adults and, in my opinion, especially as parents, it can be really hard finding and making new friends. Add in living in a new place where you don't know anyone and it can seem like a downright impossible feat. Even as an introvert, I have found myself reaching out more and more for people to connect with after I started having kids. After all, we all need a little adult conversation every now and then, right?

             Sure, I still have my friends from school that I still talk to and hang out with occasionally. But, most of them live over two hours away, so needless to say, the hanging out part doesn't happen nearly as much as I would like. Though I haven't been going to our playdate group meetups much, I enjoy talking to most of those ladies too, but I still feel like I have my guard up somewhat for whatever reason. Like I haven't gotten them quite pegged, so I'm not completely at ease with them, I guess you could say. There's also the other moms who take their kids to storytime/music and movement on Thursdays, but I've only talked to a few of them a handful of times, if that, and we've been going for 2-3 months now. Most of them are definitely not my type of people. I won't go into specifics on that.

             One of the ladies from our playdate group also happens to be in the local babywearing group and told me about it before I even had Ripley. (She was 5 months old on the 15^th! How is that possible?! Back to topic, though...) As with most things new to me, I had been wanting to go to one of their playdates for awhile, but kept putting it off. In hindsight, I wish I would have just gone sooner!

             I have only been to two playdates so far and really haven't met that many people in the group, but I feel like I finally found a place where I don't have to put on facades and can just be myself. I don't know what it is about them, but I just feel comfortable, which, again as an introvert, is extremely rare for me right off the bat. And as cheesy as it sounds, it's a good feeling. We all need people we can open up to and feel relaxed around, right?

             I definitely plan on making an effort to go more and can't wait to go to my first monthly meeting. To me it's just an extra bonus that these people can help me out with my baby carrier questions. Lol (I just got my first soft structured carrier, so I am in desperate need of some help!) I'm looking forward to the montly meeting to meet more people AND hopefully be able to try on some different carriers to get a better idea of what I like. I was so set on the idea that a SSC would make my life infinitely easier than the mei tai, but it is not love so far. But that's a story for a different post, perhaps.

             Moral of my story: Get out there, do things, meet new people, even if you're shy at first like me. Eventually you're bound to find ones you just relate to, right? Depending on your location and views/values you may have to search longer than others, but I think it's totally worth the effort. :)

             Where have you found people you can relate to as a parent? Are you part of a local group or online forum?