Newark Moms Playdate

I've recently been spending a little time skimming through the Delaware Online Moms-Like-Me web page. At first, I really couldn't find anything that really interested me about it. I mean I've lurked on my share of chat boards, but personally just never was committed enough to keep up with one.

Then, I saw a feature where you could connect with other mothers in your zip code and thought it was great. I joined the group and introduced myself as a mother with a 9 month old. I really want Jude to spend time with some kids his age (it's not sooo important now, but as he gets older, I feel it will be more and more important), so I asked if there were any mothers with kids int he same age range who wanted to get together. I want him to learn to share, to get the social interaction, not be too shy, etc.

Well, after like a week I had no responses and thought it was a dud of an idea. Then one day, I get a auto-generated e-mail saying there was activity on one of my posts and I got a little excited. Around that time, two mothers with kids close in age said they too were looking for a playgroup, so the wheels were set in motion.

When it was just the two mother and me, we decided to meet for a mall walk with the kids. Really this particular meeting sounded like it was more about the moms than the kids, but I went with it. Before we had a chance to actually set anything up, the group of interested persons grew to about 6 or 7 and that just seemed to be a little too big to go walking through the mall. I asked if anyone else was interested in meeting at the library and got a few interested persons. The library was free, they have a sitting area, toys, etc, so it seemed perfect. We set it up for 10:30 this morning.

I'm not sure when it happened, but at some point in Ryan and I's relationship, I became this socially awkward mess (he has really rubbed off on me). I avoid people I knew from high school at the mall b/c I hate awkward conversation and so meeting these new women was kind of a big deal. I would really be putting myself out there in the world of small talk.

I woke up this morning slightly nervous. I mean I'd be making conversation with women I didn't know.. and based off of the information I had gotten from them, I'd be one of the youngest mothers. But I got Jude ready, grabbed the books we needed to return anyway and headed to the library.

There was already a little boy there who was probably 2 1/2 when I got there. He was with his grandmother and older than any of the kids the women I talked to said they'd be bringing. Right when I showed up, another 2 year old showed up with his grandmother as well... and then a little girl who was probably 4-5 or older... and some more 2ish year olds... but none of the 7-9 month old babies. Bummer.

It wasn't THAT big of a deal. I mean I needed to go to the library to return books anyway, and I ended up talking to a nice Indian woman and her son who was just under 2 years... but all of the other 6+ women never showed up.

So, instead of having other babies Jude's age, there were once again, a bunch of children older than him, with mothers saying "be careful for the baby! share with the baby! don't step on the baby!" instead of people Jude could really interact with. He loves to look at other kids and seems interested in playing with them, so I feel bad for the poor little guy sometimes when they're all putting this protective bubble around him.

As I said, there was one woman who's son loved "the baby". He held Jude's hand and played with him and shared his toys with him. Jude was standing up against one toy and the kid thought it was so neat. They laughed with each other and it was oh-so-cute. All of this made it not be a huge waste of a trip.

Maybe it was just a bad time for the others... maybe a bad location... who knows. I figured I'd give it one more go before giving up on it 100%.