Motherhood: The Universal Language

Fellow event panelists Jill Hanner, Deb Perelman, Dana Weiss and me, far right.

I’m convinced that you could drop any two moms with kids under 5 into a room together and listen to it fill up with laughter, shakes of the head and mutual understanding. It wouldn’t matter if you were total opposites philosophically or politically because you still have so much in common because of the greatest common denominator: motherhood.

Last week, I got a rare day away from the kids (thanks hubby!) so that I could attend Fitness magazine’s Meet & Tweet blogging event. I was a panelist, which had me shaking in my adidas shoes a little bit, but once that bit of fun was over, I got to hang around, meet other fit bloggers, visit vendors and do a cardio dance workout taught by Athleta athlete Jennifer Turner. It was a really fun, inspiring day.

But besides the fit inspiration and total girl power vibe of the event, I cracked up at the nearly instant friendship I struck up with two moms: Nellie of Brooklyn Active Mama and Gia of RUN Gia RUN. Nellie is a mom of two young kiddos and a Zumba instructor, so we had a lot to chat about. Gia is the mom of two young twins, so I instantly had mad respect. Within two minutes of conversation with both of them, the chatter had turned to potty training. And for that, I apologize, as it was surely my fault. But I was reminded how wonderful it is to connect with other mothers who are at the same crazy life stage as you are. It’s not only wonderful, but I think it’s important.

It’s so easy to feel overwhelmed and inadequate when it comes to motherhood. You’re stretched thin, trying to do it all. The demands are 24/7. You feel like a failure when you can’t do it all. You feel like maybe yours is the only kid who eats rocks. So it’s a relief to know that other moms know how crazy it is, how tough it is to balance everything. How it’s easier to just stay home sometimes than deal with potty training on the go. How every kid on earth puts rocks in their mouths.

Every mama needs some mom friends. If you haven’t met a few, I highly suggest you get yourself out there so you have a couple of mom confidants. Momfidants, if  you will. Join mom groups, library story times, swim classes for babies. You might not hit it off with every mom, but odds are, you’ll have a lot to talk about with most of them.

How do you meet your fellow mom friends? —Erin