New mom friends. It’s official, I’m back in “making friends” mode. I have not had to make new friends for so many years - the last major push was right after college with all the other fragile new adults in Berkeley - but alas, here I am again. This time, fortunately, I have a little monkey to bring along to break the ice.
Sam's cheeks
I understand why there are so many novels about the sweet, ferocious, binding, yet simultaneously competitive and awkward friendships that define new motherhood. There are heaps upon heaps of moms/mums in Sydney. Everywhere I look, there are moms pushing strollers down the harbor path with toddlers wailing; mums with other mums pushing fruit-colored prams - plum and apricot and kiwi - full of newborns; packs of women with chunky six-month olds in Ergo carriers; mums getting tea, looking fresh to death; mums getting cake, looking like 4pm; American mommas, Australian mommas, Chinese mommas, Indonesian mommas, Danish mommas. We’re all here, and we’re all in dire need of a good laugh.
The boy and me at Manly Beach. Getting out is <<THE BEST>>
I’ve been incredibly lucky in my quest for new mom friends, and for that reason alone, we couldn’t have moved across the Pacific at a better time. This has been one thing about moving that's been easy, even natural. It feels kind of like dating, except the stakes are lower and no one cares what they look like. We do a lot of coffee dates in swanky baby-friendly cafes where I push aside my guilt over buying another $4 flat white (thank you patient wait staff!), walks along the glittering harbor, church playgroups, and swim class (yes, Sam is in swim lessons and he’s a total beast).
I have been presented an abundance of possible friendships, and though it takes some energy, time, and yet more adventures on public transportation, it's worth it to feel connected, understood, and trade Life After Baby stories while exploring the city.
Kids and babies everywhere! Look at this little rugby player at Bondi Beach.
Though it hasn't happened yet, I do have hope that at least one of the ladies I’ve met here can make me laugh till I cry, or the other way around.
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