Mom's Night Out

When I was a kid, my mom was a stay at home mom. She left the workforce when I was born and didn't return for 12 years, when Di was entering kindergarten. We moved a lot, so my parents didn't get a lot of "date nights." It wasn't until we lived in Aurora, CO that they found people that they were willing to leave us with for a night or a weekend. While we lived there, my mom joined a "Mom's Night Out" group. As a kid, I simply knew that once a month (I think on a Monday night), my mom left us in my dad's capable hands so that she could go out with her friends for an evening and have dinner. I accepted that - dad managed fine - and that was that. As I got older, mom used to tell me that her "Mom's Night Out" was cheaper than a psychiatrist. I'm not sure I got that when I was 12, but I do now.

Fast forward 20 years and here I am.

Tonight I went to my version of "Mom's Night Out." Coincidentally, we all are mothers. More importantly, I find such joy and laughter with this group of friends. We all know each other in the group through someone else in the group. We're like the real life version of "Six Degrees of Separation." It's kind of what we are - friends connected by one other person in the group. We meet once a month to talk about a book for a "Book Club." At least, we call it a "book club."

Truthfully - we talk about the book for 10 or 15 minutes and then gab about life and drink wine/ beer for the rest of the evening. We cackle over the funny things that have happened in our life, we listen to the frustrations, and we enjoy each other's company.

I am not close with everyone there, but I am friendly with them all. Some are friendships that are connected through another person, and though I enjoy their company, they aren't all independent friendships. But here's the interesting thing - when our "book club" was out of commission for a few months and we didn't meet - I truly missed them. All of them. I talked to a few of them independently, but found I missed the group together, because together our dynamic is truly...well...heart - lifting. I sat tonight, in the very pleasant fall evening, on this restaurant's patio having a glass of wine and felt lifted. Lifted up. Tracy sat next to me and cackled like only Tracy can. The conversation ranged from the book to sex to a husband's obnoxious behavior to a new baby to potty training to school/work and everything in between. And as I sat I realized what my mom meant all those years ago: this really is cheaper than a psychiatrist.

A couple glasses of wine and a couple of hours with friends later I feel like a much less stressed version of myself. Some of us are teachers, some of us are not - some of us have a long history together, and some of us are more recent. But it is incredibly relaxing to just be with a group of friends that make you feel better - and don't charge a $30 copay! I hope you all are as lucky as I am.

Erica