baby laughter

A girlfriend and her sweet little 7 month old came over the other day for a dip in the baby pool and to share lunch, time, and thoughts. It is so refreshing to connect with like-minded parents. We mothers, especially ones who are the primary caregivers for their children, need other mothers for support, inspiration, and shared laughter over the foibles of parenthood. 1) Support. Mother who stay home have unique challenges: being alone with an infant, baby, or toddler for extended periods of time punctuated by diapers and naps is simultaneously wonderful and difficult. Mother who work have unique challenges: the stresses of work expectations balanced with the stresses of feeding, cleaning, shopping, loving, and caring for family. We need other moms in our lives who have parallel journeys. Reach out to those high school girlfriends who’ve fallen by the wayside over the years. See if they have children too! What about your work girlfriends? Church/volunteer activity friends? Motherhood is too good to keep to oneself. 2) Inspiration. Since starting this blog project, I’ve found so many amazing mothers online who are also bloggers. They are a constant inspiration to me! Frugal Granola, Small Town Simplicity, Conversion Diary, Kitchen Stewardship, to name a few. I continue to be inspired by people I knew pre-blogging. Diapeepees, Keeping Up With the Joneses, All Things to Please, Kid Play Times, Farm Girl Fare, Meghan Orud Photography & Design, and JosefBig. Being a mother is simultaneously exhilarating and  exhausting. It is both inspiring…