But what about the rest of us?
With all of the networking sites for moms, it cannot be news that
there are myriad opportunities for some women to connect. I
understand the strain motherhood can put on a social life and even a
woman’s personal mental health, but I think it’s time to expand the
opportunities for other women to network and connect in much the same
way!
Where is it written that only moms have no social lives?! I am only
slightly self-conscious in declaring that I have a limited social life
right now as well. Granted, that’s part of being in grad school and a
new city, but I still think it is important to acknowledge that ALL
women can improve their social circle by putting themselves out there
a bit, even seeking out entirely new people to bring into a network of
friends.
The problem is that – despite the many webpages devoted to connections
for mommies – there are limited options when it comes to general
social networking for women in general, especially those looking to
make local connections with real-life, going-out potential!
For those of you who are mothers, I have nothing against you and your
kick-ass networking abilities and options! I think the plethora of
social opportunities you are creating for yourselves and other
overworked moms is wonderful (I’m just jealous!). I wish the rest of
our sex could hop on the connection boat, though, and start a social
connection site for local communities of women to test the waters and
plan real-life get-togethers for the purpose of finding friends and
expanding social opportunities.
To promote friendly gatherings of mothers everywhere, here is a short
list I compiled of a few sites devoted to getting moms connected to
kindred spirits:
http://www.babble.com/mom/health-and-relationships-momance-befriending-other-moms/
Why can’t I have some of that?! No joke – how about a
20s-30s-something-network? Or a CafeFriendlyLadies? Besides Craig’s
List, which sort of strikes me as a kind of sub-optimal (and slightly
creepy?) way of forging into the unknown world of random friend
opportunities, I would love to see an entire site specifically
designed for ladies to meet other women who are in search of
friendship. Searching by theme and location at meetup.com is a great
start, but I know people are out there, waiting for friends to join
them, and a specific site devoted just to ladies forming friendships
could hit a wider market with a bigger impact.
So let’s see what happens. I wish I knew more about html and website
design in moments like these! In the meantime, I will have to take
what I can get. I have decided to attend a social activity on
meetup.com, although the theme and time is yet to be determined. In
the mean time, I have made a bit of progress on my November plans:
I’ve set up a girls night of Italian food and holiday ballet! This
way I get to kill two birds with one stone: taste-testing the best
Columbus has to offer in Italian cuisine and checking out the fine
arts theater for the first time! It should be fun. Plus, the best
part is that I don’t know four or five of the ladies attending, so
there will be plenty of opportunity for more progress on the
Friendship Meter.
Hooray for networking with new ladies, online or otherwise!
The Friends Forever Friendship Endeavor 