How to meet new people
So last year this time, I decided that I needed to start meeting new people. We’d been living in Jacksonville for a couple of years, I had a new baby, and I was switching to working part-time. Not only was I switching to part-time, but Tom had also started working part-time for Audioholics, and we were pulling Noah out of daycare (just as he finally started enjoying it) so we could keep Kellan home for a while. Tom encouraged me a lot – he thought I had a bit of postpartum depression after Kellan was born. I don’t know whether or not I did, but I definitely needed to have some friends.
So what did I do? I met a couple of people in our neighborhood; I started going to La Leche League meetings; and I joined a group for mothers with children under the age of 5 (St. Anne’s Circle) at our church (St. Josephs Catholic Church). Now for people who know me well, joining the group through our church would sound strange because I’m not Catholic. We got married in the Catholic church and I agreed to raise my children Catholic. My father-in-law was really the one who suggested it so I thought it really was OK for me to join. We occasionally get together with the people in the neighborhood, but don’t really seem to have a lot in common. The La Leche League meetings were fine, but I had a hard time getting to the monthly meetings since I work. Plus, I think I was the least hippie person at the meetings but by far had the oldest nursing child. Just seemed weird. Joining St. Anne’s Circle seems like a great fit. Sometimes I feel like a poser, but I just remind myself that I belong to the church as well. We have a playgroup with 4 or 5 other families and we go to afternoon library hours with them. It is a service organization, so I also get to participate in fund-raisers, bake sales, and such which keeps me feeling that I’m giving something back to the church.
The last thing that’s allowed us to connect with other families is that we were invited to join a Supper Club through some of the families in Noah’s school and have gotten to know some of those families. It was great because when Kellan was 9 months old, Tom had to start working full-time again, and our interaction with those families helped Noah’s transition back into school.
So, my one piece of advice to other mom’s is to just go find something to join and use different avenues to meet new people. And just don’t give up. Just because you don’t find the right fit at first, there are like-minded people out there. You’ll find them eventually.
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Yes, you did have PPD – admit it.