As I parked my SUV filled with Cheerios, a vibrant sign saying “Just We Too” caught my eye and made my heart flutter. I took a moment to check my reflection in the rearview mirror, ensuring I still looked the same as I did when I left home just ten minutes earlier. The silence from the backseat suggested my five-month-old daughter, Mia, was also busy admiring herself in her smudged mirror.
As I unbuckled her seatbelt, I couldn’t help but admire Mia, who was donning a colorful tie-dye outfit topped off with a bow that I wished would stay put. Leaning in, I whispered reminders from our earlier chat: “Please hold back your farts for the next 45 minutes, don’t cry or scream, and whatever you do, don’t let any accidents happen!”
With Mia nestled on my hip, I stepped into the class touted online as “the first step in socializing your child… preparing them for school and future friendships.” Inside, the atmosphere was buzzing, and I immediately felt a wave of anxiety wash over me—like a nervous freshman on the first day of high school. Laughter erupted from groups of moms effortlessly holding their babies, making me wonder how I appeared to others while cradling Mia.
Having recently moved to this town just before Mia’s arrival, my only acquaintances were the Weight Watchers lady and my empty-nest neighbors who gifted us a lovely fruit basket when we first arrived. This was my opportunity to forge a friendship, and for Mia to make new connections too. I envisioned inviting other moms over for coffee while our kids played on personalized blankets. The stakes were high for this 45-minute class.
Suddenly, a gentle touch on my arm drew my attention, and a friendly mom complimented my “cool diaper bag.” I silently thanked my mother-in-law for the suggestion and introduced myself and Mia to this kind stranger. We quickly bonded over our daughters sharing the same birthday. My nerves began to dissipate as we exchanged parenting tales. She even thought she recognized me from yoga class—score for me!
Another mom approached, sporting the same diaper bag, and we easily fell into conversation until the instructor announced it was time for circle time. Unbeknownst to me, I had stumbled upon my tribe.
The moms surrounding me turned out to be just my kind of people, and they invited me to join them for lunch after class (YAY!). We devoured our salads, shared tales of sleepless nights, and fed our babies homemade mashed veggies (how did they manage that?). I felt like I had struck gold when we exchanged numbers and set up our first playdate. A PLAYDATE!!!!!
That initial playdate blossomed into a regular weekly lunch, which eventually turned into “Girls Night Out” dinners. Our little ones learned to walk, talk, swim, and play soccer, growing out of size 12-month clothes and into backpacks. Our gatherings continued, evolving into celebrations of birthdays and holidays, while our kids played together in the other room.
We had formed something special—both for us as mothers and for our children. With every passing year, we had become a family. We shared every detail of our lives, from marital squabbles to health challenges and everything in between. We celebrated weight loss and navigated kitchen renovations and unexpected floods together. Our “Moms Like Sisters” group chat was a flurry of messages about everything from terrible traffic to teachers who didn’t understand our kids.
Time flew by, and soon our children were in 12th grade, preparing for college applications and acceptance letters. Now, as May rolls around in their senior year, nostalgia washes over me. The moments we spent together—sipping wine in the kitchen while our kids made TikToks or lounging on the couch surfing Instagram—have been the soundtrack of our lives, and now that music will fade.
During my daughter’s “college commitment party,” I glanced around at my friends, and for a moment, my heart ached. Sending Mia off to college far away will be hard, but saying goodbye to the camaraderie we moms have built feels like a significant loss as well. We will still meet up, laugh, and support each other, but the rhythm of our daily lives will change without our kids’ laughter filling the background.
“Just We Too” was right; it prepared our children for college while giving us moms the friendships we needed throughout these 17 years. They should definitely add that to their tagline.
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In summary, as my daughter prepares to leave for college, I find myself reflecting on the friendships and experiences that have shaped our lives over the years. While I will miss her dearly, I will also miss the supportive community of moms who have been by my side throughout this journey.