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I’m not one for needing to be part of a clique to feel cool. I didn’t need that in high school, in college or in graduate school. Don’t get me wrong, I had my friends and my good times, but I wanted to be my own person, not defined by who I was friends with. Today, I’m very satisfied with my friendships, my husband and my family. So why then, when I saw a group of moms with babies hanging out together in Central Park last week, did I wish that I were part of their club? They smiled, laughed, showed off their little ones to each other and I thought to myself, I bet those are the same moms who got together when they were pregnant.

Prenatal yoga anyone? Not me. You could say I’m not big on working out.

Childbirth and labor class? I’d rather watch a DVD in my living room than sit on the floor with preggo moms scarred to pieces over their impending labor and birth.

Stroller exercise post birth? I think not, I don’t need a group for that. My strolls to the supermarket, drugstores, banks, children’s clothing stores, pediatrician’s office and parks serve that purpose just fine, thanks.

New mommy support group at the community center? Please… I don’t have the time. What I’d rather have is a support group ready to feed my baby in the early morning so I could sleep ‘till 7.

E-mails from two NYC moms groups, babybites.net and bigcitymoms.com about events and lunches, dinners for working moms… I’d ignore them.

Yikes… perhaps I’ve left myself out of that mommy club and become an outcast!

I share lots of advice on this blog, but this time, I need to swallow my own medicine. Mommying (and daddying for that matter) is a hard job and it takes skills, skills, skills and patience, patience, patience. And guess where those skills and motivation and patience come from? Other parents. Duh!

Pregnant for 9 months and a new mom now for 14 months and I just realized that the purpose of those mommy groups isn’t to scare me, feed me or exercise my thighs. The purpose of those groups is to connect me, teach me and support me, to let me laugh with other parents and above all, at myself.

Being a mom is not an independent sport, as it turns out. Thankfully, I know this now.

Do you ever feel left out of the mommy club?

This entry was posted on Friday, August 21st, 2009 at 1:35 pm and is filed under Emotional Support, Life-Style. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response.