October come August.

We moved to our little Farming town last October and almost immediately I began researching Mom organizations in the area. I was determined to not be held captive within our home as I was in Kalamazoo. I adore staying at home with my kids, however with the lack of coworkers and such it can be a very lonely occupation. Add a side note of living in the middle of nowhere and two kids who can barely talk and you have an equation that leads to one crazy Mama. I needed friends who were in similar situations and as soon as we were semi settled, I went seeking. I found two right off the bat and contacted both. As it was October and all, each invited me to attend their respective Halloween parties with Marnie and Ethan. It sounded like fun, so I dressed up my little bumble bee and headed out. I'm not shy exactly, but I cannot tell you how much I hate going into situations with people I do not know. I am just bad at it. I am always super quiet and am racking my brain for things to say that won't sound amazingly stupid. Since not saying stupid things is next to impossible for me, I usually stand there and pretend to be really involved in whatever the kids are doing and only speak when asked a direct question. I wish that I was less socially retarded, but eh... Working on it sounds like too much effort. So, the first party was a bitter disappointment in a general way. Most of the Moms were older than me and had the 'Mom look' that I desperately try to avoid. Only one woman bothered to introduce herself and talk to me out of the two dozen or so that were there and as she did so all I could think about was running away. She told me about how supportive the club was for stay-at-home mothers (working mothers are not welcome) and that it literally is her life line. I looked around and decided that this was not a life line that I wanted. The second group party that we visited however was fantastic. The moms were young and trendy and actually spoke to one another. They made us feel welcome and Marnie had so much fun playing with all of the children. I knew that I wanted to belong to this group and I took the registration home to fill out. Sadly, there it sat on my counter for days and then weeks and then, actually I have no idea what ever happened to it. Winter came and went and like I had swore I would not do, we holed up in our little house praying for spring to arrive.

I am not sure what reminded me of the group or why I was so suddenly motivated to join, but I did so about six weeks ago. There are many events to attend but we haven't gone to any. Something always comes up to prevent our attendance. Every Wednesday during the summer there is a park day play-date and I have honestly planned to attend each one for the past six weeks. One of the kids always wakes up sick the day of or Troy forgets to leave the car-seats and we are stranded. This week, due to heavy rains, the park was exchanged for this funky venue called Liberty Zone. As the word 'zone' might imply, it is an area filled with tunnels and climbing and kids screaming. I had never heard of this place before and after inquiring about it's location, was surprised to find out that it is within a Baptist church. It is also a mere six minute drive from our home. We made it this morning and spent a fun filled two and a half hours in the wackiest church around the corner in their free indoor playground thingy. The kids played and hopefully little budding friendships began to develop. I as well met some neat moms and hopefully I too will make some friendships. We'll see. I am not so great at getting those going either. If nothing else we will always have Liberty Zone.