So I am finally done with my classes. I learned a valuable lesson, once again. I hate to write papers. If you ever catch me trying to get a job as a grantwriter, please shoot me.
So now that I am done, I decided to try and get back in the good graces of the playgroup. Weirdly, the majority of the moms in my playgroup have no plans of going back to work any time soon. I say weirdly, because as the daughter of teen parents, it is out of my realm of experience that people would not work full time to get their family ahead financially. Now, this isn’t to say that I haven’t HEARD of it happening, but I didn’t expect to encounter it on such a large scale in real life.
Before I went back to work, be talked about having playgroup once a month or so in the evenings. It happened a few times, but once classes started, I didn’t have the energy or enough one on one time with M to host regular playgroups.
But now I am ready. As a fairly shy introvert, playgroup has been my big social outlet in Columbus. I was kind of a playgroup junkie and I think everyone pretty much liked me. I am pretty funny in person, once I managed to push through the shyness. Playgroup was great, because the babies (now toddlers) took the attention away from me until I got comfortable enough to be the life of the playgroup (just kidding).
But it seems like playgroup has moved on without me. No one is really interested in an evening playgroup anymore. They meet two (!) times a week during the day, so that probably is plenty for most people. I really thought some of them would go back to work and would want to hang out in the evenings, but it is not to be. Their dance cards are full of fun-filled daytime playgroups.
I am a little disapointed because playgroup was so easy and I suck at making new friends. In reality, I don’t know if I really have much in common with the playgroup moms, besides having kids around the same age. They are pretty heavy on Art Loving. You can read my last post if you were unaware of the fact that I hate art. (There are a few notable playgroup mom exceptions, but I haven’t really pursued many activities with them outside of playgroups…I really should though).
I have met some really cool people here outside of playgroup, but I am so awkward at moving from the acquaintance to friend. I don’t really know how faciliate the transition and most of the time I am really too lazy to do any uber-social activities where I have to interact with more than one or maybe two people at a time (yes I really am an introvert).
PLUS, when you throw kids into the mix you have to think of kid friendly activities. I know what kind of stuff Miss M can handle, but she is just a little bug (16 months). She seems vaciliate between having a very short attention span (Restaurants/coffee shops no good), needing a lot of intensive attention (chasing her all over the park) and napping (must be at our house or somewhere with a bed). What other kids or older kids do is a total mystery to me.
OR, if I am trying to hang out with non-kid people, they can’t understand that I need to be home by 8:00 for Miss M’s bedtimes. Or to the fact that I might actually enjoy hanging out with the little maniac.
In the past, my friends were usually friends of other good friends or people I met at work. That way there was a lot of initial pressure-free socializing before I had to make the jump to initiating something on my own.
I guess I am really noticing my lack of friends after our friends from SF visited this weekend. It is so easy to hang out with people if you have some kind of shared history and everyone knows what activities will work for the group. I suppose I am just going to have to get over myself and bite the bullet. I am going to have to ask some people to hang out with me. Yipes!