Getting Out There

My best friend of almost 23 years (my goodness, has it really been THAT long?!), one Ms. Rachele Marie, recently made her quest for love public when she announced on Facebook and her blog (Vintage Love) that she had signed up for online dating. If you know Rach, you know that this was a huge step for her; not only to make the decision to take her relationship future into her own hands but also to shout it from the virtual rooftops for all of the world wide web to hear. Instead of continuing to wait around [rather impatiently] for Mr. RFR (Right for Rachele), she is making things happen for herself and I love it. I could not be more proud of her and was inspired by her declaration . . . so I applied it to my own life.

My not having to work full-time so that I can be home with our son is very important to me and David (more on that later). I love every second of the day that I am fortunate enough to spend with Lil' Raf (minus days like yesterday filled with hours of incessant whining due to teething, when I feel helpless and just want to take the pain away). But I have reached a point where I think my son is ready to be socializing with other little ones, and mommy needs to be socializing with other grown-ups. I am very lucky to have an amazing husband (who looks forward to the weekends when he takes over much of the baby business so that I can sleep in, run errands, etc.) and supportive women in my life. Our network of family and close friends is wonderful; I know they love us unconditionally and will gladly let me ramble on about spit-up, teething, how adorable Cade is, and the like, for days. However, there's definitely something to be said for widening your social circle and making room for new comrades; especially those who are having the same experiences that you are. As a first time mom, I believe that I need this just as much as Cade does. We're both learning and growing and it will be great to have more pals who are going through the same things.

So last week Cade and I ventured out on a new mother/son excursion to the Cuddle Club story time at our local library. We met up with friends of ours (who had attended once before) but other than those two gals, everyone and everything was new to us. We sang songs, bounced, recited rhymes, interacted with the librarian and each other, and read a story together -- it was great! The best part was that we had somewhere fun to be on a weekday morning that was beneficial for me and the baby. We met some very nice mommies and adorable babies and can't wait for next week's get together!

And, just like Rachele's journey, putting ourselves out there and hoping to make some new connections is just the beginning . . .