Not everyone is going to like you. I say this a lot, maybe because I need the reminder. As moms raising kids, we’re in this weird stage of constantly being thrown into relationships with other moms. At soccer practice. Or dance rehearsal. Or Spring Fling committee at school. We’re like a ginormous salad being tossed about a bowl, our different pieces thrown together in a constant reassembling of limitless combinations. And I’m an olive and not everyone loves olives and sometimes olives are an acquired taste.
And it can be exhausting if you’re an olive, or a sundried tomato, or, for the love of Liz Lemon, an anchovy. Not everyone wants these pungent flavors getting all flavory on their perfectly lovely romaine.
Now I’m hungry (But for bacon. Who is ever really hungry for salad?).
Where was I?
Not everyone is going to like you. I am not everyone’s cup of dark roast coffee. And it’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay.
Keep trying, keep being yourself, and for heaven’s sake, wield your weirdness like a boss. We need you, striking up conversations, putting yourself out there, and helping us find each other. You might be exactly the friend someone’s looking for. So please don’t worry about the moms who already have all the friends they can handle or the ones who are reading a really good book or the ones who are too cool for school.
We’re here for the awkward ones. The ones who go in for a boob-crushing hug when they’ve just met someone and halfway through the hug they realize that person is more of a hand-shaker but it’s too late. For the ones who are new to town or to the school where everyone seems to know all about The Way It’s Always Done, and they feel like they’re playing catch-up and never seem to read the right flyer or get the email. For the ones who go crazy eyes on perfectly nice, trying-to-help strangers, because they know their kids and know what will happen if they let the situation escalate. For the clumsy ones who spill coffee at the playdate and wipe out at the park in front of everyone, stand up, and pronounce, “Ta-da!” For the ones who have TMI as their middle names and want to tell you all about their baby’s circumcision and that time they pooped their pants in Target.
We are awkwardsauce mamas, and frankly, I love the heck out of us. We’re so interesting and the world needs our particular brand of crazy.
Not everyone is going to like us, but we’ll find each other through the crowd. We’ll know. One day I’ll see your jazz hands and think, “She’s my people.”
So be yourself with abandon. Make no apologies for awkwardness. Put yourself out there. You’re doing just fine.
For more about finding mom friends, check out my book, Women Are Scary: The Totally Awkward Adventure of Finding Mom Friends, at WomenAreScary.com.
You can also ENTER TO WIN a free copy of Melanie’s book here on our contests page!
