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It seems like yesterday that I was a first time mom. I was surrounded by a warm, caring group of other first time moms. I’m not quite sure how I got so lucky, but we all connected when our babies were just months old. We became mom friends. We laughed together. We cried together. We built a strong bond. There were late morning play dates, meetups for coffee, wine and brunch. I loved you girls like we were sisters. It was the one time in my life where I really felt connected to a group.
Our babies grew into toddlers, our toddlers into preschoolers, and our preschoolers into kindergarteners.
Over the years we’ve slowly drifted apart. Some of us returned to work, others moved away. Maybe we realized that our only common bond was our children. There were some petty fights, some mama drama. I held onto our friendships as long as I could, longing for every last moment.
But, we’ve all gone our own directions. I miss you all. I miss enjoying the “firsts” of our children. I miss swapping potty training tips. I miss afternoons at the park and baby birthday parties.
As I wake up in the morning at the crack of dawn to get my “baby” ready for school drop off, I know you’re doing the same with yours across town at some other school.
I still see some of you regularly, but it’s really not the same. We say the cursory hello in the carpool lane. We chat briefly at the museum. We comment on the occasional social media post. I’ve tried reaching out many times, but I, too, am done trying to save a friendship that is no longer there.
I feel like we’re at the end of a relationship where we said we’d be “just friends”. Only we’re not. Now you’re just some mommy that I used to know…
I know how you feel. The same thing happened with my oldest once she hit school age. Hugs!!
Sigh. It is sad when things go that way. That is why I don’t ever base my friendships around who has kids or what ages their kids are. I base my friendships on who I fit with. Sorry you lost your friends!
This! So much. Sometimes I struggle with friendships lost, but I guess that just means I can focus on more sustainable ones.
Great read! This happens forever I think, with different stages. Babies,preschool parents at the classroom door, classroom parents…
It happened with our kids, too. Neighborhood kids that frequently our house developed different personalities and interests so our children drifted apart. It was a little sad to see, but it was also important for them to start choosing their own friends based on things other than location.
Sad but true. I love the play on the song title though–it made me chuckle :). Great post.
It’s so hard to maintain friendships when you are at certain points in your life. Kids really take up so much of my time, I often neglect my friendships, which isn’t right, but happens.
Maintaining friendships with other moms is so incredibly difficult! We all have our stuff going on and since our focus is on our kids, it makes it difficult to nurture our own friendships. Thank you for linking up with us! #TakeTime