Friday Favorites- Meetup.com

Today's favorite is something that I'm just getting into. It's Meetup.com and I've joined a group of toddlers born in 2008 (for Genny). She's still super shy around other kids, and I want her to be exposed and interact with other children before she starts school. Plus it's a bonus of mom chat time!

I also joined a group of various aged children a few days ago. I will attend my first meetup with them on Wednesday and as long as they seem conducive to my idea of children/moms to be around, we will continue to meet up with them weekly. They have a more rigid schedule than the above toddlers group and seem like they are a more close-knit group. Since Kindermusik ended, I want to have something to look forward to every week as well as an excuse to get out of the house. I have a habit of getting sucked into a routine where I don't leave the house with the exception of going to the grocery store or Target. But as I've realized in the past, that's a good way to get down emotionally, so I need to keep going to the meetups even if it means facing my fear of meeting new people.

This may be a bit surprising for some who read this blog, but I'm not very good at putting myself out there. I'd much rather cling to one person in a large group than spread out and meet everyone. But I've been trying to go against my grain and meet new people in order to broaden my friend base. Not that I don't have great friends, but let's face it, sometimes it's just not convenient to meet up with your friends. If you belong to a group like Meetup.com, then you aren't counting on a select number of people to keep your adult sanity. Instead, you get a variety of people who will slip into that space reserved for companionship outside of marriage.

So if you're lonely (like I have been quite often) then check out Meetup.com and join a group that holds your interest. There are dog lovers groups, hiking singles groups, and most important in my world, a slew of mom's groups for almost every type of mom out there.

I hope you all have a great weekend, I'm going (surprise) hiking on Sunday with my friend Jasmin. It's a great sport that the whole family can do and it's free (well, it costs gas and sometimes a fee for parking at the park).