[mel]

Where is a good place to make friends. All my friends don't have children yet so I feel kind of alone. Me and my friends are on a whole nother page in life. Any suggestions on where to go. If there is anyone in there 20s in the tri cities that feels the same way or knows a great place to make friends please let me know.

[EMMALEISMOMMY1]

Im 22, and my little girl is 20 months old. I know exactly how you feel about not being able to talk to your friends about certain things and ourlives being on different pages. Lucky for me i have my best friend of 16 years who is always supportive no matter what. She helped me start making new friends online that i could talk to and i have many aquaintances at the parks me and my daughter go to. The main thing is to stay positive. It may seem hard now but it will get better. I find that there are many mothers on tricitymom that are always willing to talk and give me there advice. And i have found lots of moms and dads on sites such as myspace, facebook, and yahoochat that i talk to. But im not saying just go and give all of your and your childs info to some stranger, just use that as a social outlet and im sure friendships will grow from there. It takes time, sometimes i feel like im back in high school again trying to start all over but this time i have a husband and extra person with me..lol. But feel free to message me and time and we can talk im always looking for friends with children. Its hard watching my friends go out and party and live it up while im responsible and mature taking care of my daughter. But i love every minute of it. Which im sure you feel the same way.

[WifeAndMommy]

I sent you a message before i seen you started a thread...

I'm in my 20's but getting ready to hit 25 this march....It's totally weird though because i still feel like i'm 19!

I'm a great listener...I love to go do things..i especially love to shop...

I'm a stay at home mom so everyone i know works!

I'm clueless at the whole friend making thing..its a lot easier when your in high school lol...

Some people are very hesitant to try a playdate...

I'm here m-f 8-1:30 while shes in prek with nothing to do but clean house all day every day...gets super old...

And its no fun to shop by yourself or go to lunch by yourself!!!

Most people i meet on here are from bristol though or elizabethton..just to far for me to drive.

The people i do meet have turned out to be totally strange...

[MomOfAgr8Kid]

mel, on 21 January 2010 - 05:47 PM, said:

Where is a good place to make friends. All my friends don't have children yet so I feel kind of alone. Me and my friends are on a whole nother page in life. Any suggestions on where to go. If there is anyone in there 20s in the tri cities that feels the same way or knows a great place to make friends please let me know.

I know what you mean. I'm not much of the social person anymore since we started our family, but thats just by my choice. I spend what little free time we have here at home or out on family outings. I got married at 19 pregnant at 20 now at 23 my wonderful daughter just turned 3. Our outlet is KinderMusic, it gives her a chance to interact with other children her age, and me a chance to interact with other adults. If you are interested in doing something with your child, maybe a hobby like that would help. I also get alot of socialization from working full time in child care (alot of my children's parents are my age) and then I'm also a full-time student as NESTCC, that helps as well.

But mostly this is just to say, yea i know where you are coming from. Good luck.

[Zoom39]

MomOfAgr8Kid, on 22 January 2010 - 04:25 AM, said:

I know what you mean. I'm not much of the social person anymore since we started our family, but thats just by my choice. I spend what little free time we have here at home or out on family outings. I got married at 19 pregnant at 20 now at 23 my wonderful daughter just turned 3. Our outlet is KinderMusic, it gives her a chance to interact with other children her age, and me a chance to interact with other adults. If you are interested in doing something with your child, maybe a hobby like that would help. I also get alot of socialization from working full time in child care (alot of my children's parents are my age) and then I'm also a full-time student as NESTCC, that helps as well.

But mostly this is just to say, yea i know where you are coming from. Good luck.

[Zoom39]

I understand, since I was on the opposite end of your scenario. I had my children at a later age whereas most of my friends where having children in their early and late 20's. I'm sure that you're already doing this, but keep your mind open in terms of how old your friends need to be. I have friendships with mom's (mom's with young kids to those who are already grandparents) of all age ranges (20's to 70's) and have learned a tremendous amount from having relationships with all of these amazing women and the advice that they dispense. We all go through different stages in our life where our friendships change, although it's incredibly tough of a transition to see your buddies and yourself continue on different paths. Been there, done that and it's tough. Hang in there. Also, whatever social outlet you have an opportunity to be a part of whether it's volunteering or a paid activity with or without your child, be open to be a part of it of course. For cost free activities, check out your local library for story times (there may even be mom groups posted on their walls/website) and also Barnes and Noble has a story time as well. There is a thread that you may want to check out on this site that has a mom's group that you can join. Best of wishes.

[ILuvMy2boys]

mel, on 21 January 2010 - 10:47 PM, said:

Where is a good place to make friends. All my friends don't have children yet so I feel kind of alone. Me and my friends are on a whole nother page in life. Any suggestions on where to go. If there is anyone in there 20s in the tri cities that feels the same way or knows a great place to make friends please let me know.

My name is Kimberly and I am 26 with a 6 year old son, and a 2 year old son I live outside of Jonesborough.I know exactly what you mean.I started a family young and thought I had so many friends and when we got older we didn't have anything in common and in my situation I wasn't fun to them anymore I guess because my priorities changed ofcourse and poof they were gone.Sometimes now I miss having girlfriends but I also think I have become a little bit antisocial not purposely.Part of it also was being burned so bad by my best friends it is hard for me to trust people and I feel silly writing that but it's true I work and ofcourse feel like I never get enough done or family time and i'm not retarded socially I just have a hard time finding women to be actual friends with but I would love to find the time.I either don't have things in common or it just seems harder the older I get,it used to be so easy lol
Anyways my point is that I do wish I could meet some gal pals too,I really miss it sometimes.

[WorkingMomma]

I'm in my 30s, but I agree completely. I have drifted apart from most of my friends because we were/are at different points in our lives. I've been pretty antisocial, too since the kids came around. I'm trying to remedy that now, but haven't really figured out how. I have 3 kids ages 7, 5, and 2 & live in Colonial Heights.

[WorkingMomma]

I'm in my 30s, but I agree completely. I have drifted apart from most of my friends because we were/are at different points in our lives. I've been pretty antisocial, too since the kids came around. I'm trying to remedy that now, but haven't really figured out how. I have 3 kids ages 7, 5, and 2 & live in Colonial Heights.

[sweetmomma2]

I totally understand. I am almost 24 and I have a little girl who is is 3 and a 9 month old. My little girl starts pre school this fall and I dont know what Im gonna do!! I stay home with kids and we dont really go anywhere. Has anybody seen the travelocity commercial where the little gnome is watching tv and says i gotta get outta here i gotta get outta here!! That is so me lol!!

[Jessica a.k.a. Mommy]

ILuvMy2boys, on 09 February 2010 - 04:19 PM, said:

My name is Kimberly and I am 26 with a 6 year old son, and a 2 year old son I live outside of Jonesborough.I know exactly what you mean.I started a family young and thought I had so many friends and when we got older we didn't have anything in common and in my situation I wasn't fun to them anymore I guess because my priorities changed ofcourse and poof they were gone.Sometimes now I miss having girlfriends but I also think I have become a little bit antisocial not purposely.Part of it also was being burned so bad by my best friends it is hard for me to trust people and I feel silly writing that but it's true I work and ofcourse feel like I never get enough done or family time and i'm not retarded socially I just have a hard time finding women to be actual friends with but I would love to find the time.I either don't have things in common or it just seems harder the older I get,it used to be so easy lol
Anyways my point is that I do wish I could meet some gal pals too,I really miss it sometimes.

[Jessica a.k.a. Mommy]

I am a 26 year old stay at home mom with a 15month old daughter. I too have found myself with fewer and fewer friends because either they work, don't have kids, different life styles, etc... I am starting to get super bored staying at home but would never put my daughter in daycare. I can't stand the thought of missing any part of her growing up. I have always been a positive and happy person but this winter has gotten the best of me! I would love to be part of a group with mothers who are in the same stage of life as me.

[CarrieS]

Oddly enough, I became more social when I had DD four years ago. By the time she was 12 weeks old, I realized that she was much happier if we got out and she was able to observe people, so we joined play groups. We lived in Chattanooga until she was 18 months old, and we just found informal groups there. Here, we have found mom friends through MOMS Club, meetups.com, La Leche League, Attachment Parenting International, our homeschool group, and (when it was active) Moxy Moms. There are also Parents of Preschoolers (POPS) groups. Many area hospitals have "Baby Fairs" at which some of these organizations display tables. Most of these groups allow you to get to know the moms in a public setting before deciding about play dates. For me, it is invaluable to chat with other moms in person.

I also agree that it helps to be open to friends of all ages. I don't typically notice the age of other moms because those I meet are at the same phase in life - chasing around young children!

[Mom2ZnSaheim]

I'm 34 and need to get out more. I have a 14 year old son and a 20 month old son. Seems all of my 'friends' are working or partying. I'm a stay at home mom and it's hard to find new people that are available or open to doing things.

I hate going to lunch, to the park, or shopping by myself. I live between JC and Jonesborough. If anyone wants to try get together, let me know. I'm starting to feel like a hermit and I know Saheim is bored of only seeing me during the day!

[KayyLynn]

Hey girls, just wondering if any of you have made playdates or such? I am a 23 yr old mother of a 15 month old little girl. I am active with a couple of playgroups but it seems that I never find someone around my age that is into the same things as me. I am starting to feel kinda sad because I just want to make some great friends for me and my daughter! I am a SAHM and would love to find a group of gals to start having playdates such as going to the park, home playdates (after we get to know each other), just really anything along these lines! I am a pretty easy going person and love to chat so if you all think you wanna try some playdates or something let me know! You can email me at southern_bell87@yahoo.com. We do kindermusik as well and hope to do another class this fall, we really enjoyed it! I have joined a mom's group but there is little participation so it is kinda pointless :-( But we could always meet somewhere very public and let the kiddos play and chat. It is so hard to meet people when you do not go to work or school!