In honor of David Letterman’s farewell show I wanted to do a Top 10 Things I Love about LWB list. But in true mom form Im a little late. I love so much about this group and all its wonderful mamas- this is just a list of some of my favorite things about our awesome network! (Not necessarily in any order)
#10 Sometimes you just need a good laugh. You ladies post things and ask questions in a way that literally makes me laugh out loud. I love it! We can all relate and I love how we can laugh at ourselves. One of my favorites is from Courtney Steen Turner on Valentines Day:
Only you ladies will get this, haha. Valentine's Day plans conversation (last night):
Husband: My parents called and offered to take the baby tomorrow afternoon.
Me: Oh? What time?
Hubs: I said no. We don't have any plans!
Me: What? We can MAKE plans! What time are they offering?
Hubs: I'm not really interested.... we'd have to drive out there (20 min drive), come back into town, do whatever, go back and get her, come back into town... Not worth the effort...
Me: How about we drop her off, come home, have some quality naked time, take a long nap, then go pick her up?
Hubs: (stares at me open-mouthed for a minute) ... I'll call them back.
Hubs: (after he talks to his folks) This is why I married you.
#9 Mom’s Night Out. Im not going to lie...every month when this evening comes around Im tired from the day and then I see my husband (aka babysitter for the evening) get in his comfy clothes and I cant help but think how I want to get in my comfy clothes and get all settled in for the night too. But then I get to MNO and Im SO glad I didn't give up before I got there. Its a little like a flashback to a previous world but now with other mamas that can relate to where you are in life. I always meet someone new and its just a nice way to spend the evening.
#8 My daughter has thousands of potential playmates. I never worry if my daughter will get enough socialization because I know that every week we will see some familiar faces and likely some new faces. Her first year was pretty rough and she spent less hours than I can count on 1 hand away from mom or dad. (Ladies- if you have family in town don’t take that for granted!) But she did gets lots of socialization with other moms and babies. Just being around other adults helped open up her tiny world and I couldn't have done it so easily without this group. Now she looks forward to “go play with friends” and even tells me certain kids she wants to play with because its a particular day of the week!
#7 Family Fun Day. These are some of my favorite because its bringing in the Dads with Babies too and I love seeing our little family spend time with other sweet families. (Plus Gretchen usually does stuff in Texas wine country, brewery etc and its easy to get the guys on board )
#6 I love that we are all about Non-Judgmental sharing. No group is perfect and certainly not one full of hormonal women ;) but we strive as a group to keep this a safe and encouraging place. We don't all have to see eye to eye and as moms there are a million different stances we can take on a million different topics but thats not always the point. I love that in this group its more important to be together than to be right. There are plenty of ways to have constructive conversations and I appreciate not feeling like I’ll be attacked for putting my thoughts (or top 10 list haha) out there for the LWB world.
#5 Getting out of the house. Not only do we have weekly meet-ups planned, but you ladies are always posting about going to the park, or checking out new bakeries, or meeting at the splash pad. Its so great to know there are other people in the same place in life as me just needing to get out for some “fresh air”. Getting the babies to cooperate so we can actually be at the same place at the same time is another story but you gotta start somewhere.
#4 There is power in numbers and I love all the wonderful things this group has done together. From reaching out to our neighbors in need, to donating Christmas gifts for a teen boys home, to raising money to help families during personal tragedy, to supporting our community during recent storms, the list goes on and on. There are so many of you that give generously of your time, money, organizational skills, and personal resources. I am honored to be a part of such a caring group of ladies.
#3 Building community together. This group started with a handful of people (seriously, like 12) and look at what we have grown together. And Im not talking about numbers. Im talking about the communities we have built together, the friendships and connections we have made. I have met so many of you through this group- and I have gone out of my way to meet some of you to add to the group because I had a place to connect you to. Without this group we may have just kept passing each other on the trail week after week pushing our babies alone, or sitting at story time together without really ever getting to know each other. I love meeting new moms and having this group to share with them. Its such a wonderful community full of endless resources on our journey together through motherhood.
#2 Leading with an Amazing group of Mamas. The girls on the LWB Leadership Team and our Region Leaders are seriously amazing. And they truly care about the health of this group and its members. I cant imagine serving with a more wonderful group of women!
#1 Knowing Im doing what God has called me to do. I believe with all my heart that God has me in this group to support, encourage and learn from all you fellow moms. I deeply love this group and all the families it represents, and am thankful I don't have to do any of this in my own power but through God who gives me strength and guidance.
I hope you have found some things to love about this group too. Thanks for being a part of Ladies with Babies!
.....Jessica Britnell
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