Motherhood is stressful and busy, whether you are expecting your first or have a couple of children at home already. Life is like a giant to-do list, there are kids to bathe, a nursery to shop for, lunches to make and a house to try and keep in order. It is very easy to let friendships slip through the cracks. You can’t let this happen. It is now more important than ever for mommy to have a little down time. Taking this time will not only benefit mom but her family as well.
Here is a strategy that has worked for my group of friends. Every other Monday night is “Girl Night”. The guys watch the kids (and/or football) and the women get together. It is usually nothing major. We might go out for dinner at a restaurant (an uninterrupted meal where you get to eat your food hot!), or we get together at someone’s house for dessert and conversations that don’t involve overused phrases like “don’t touch that” or “you already ate dinner”.
The key here is that we are all holding each other accountable to show up. We challenge each others excuses like “the kids have too much homework”, or “we were just about to paint the dining room”. We remind each other that it is just a couple of hours twice a month and totally worth the sacrifice. So far, our group has remained in tact for almost a year with a pretty consistent turnout.
Just to balance things out, on the opposite Monday nights all the dads get together. Although, their time is usually spent playing video games, watching sports or on particularly ambitious Monday’s they might pull together an actual game of basketball. I guess guys just bond differently.
