We had our first official “playdate” today with my new group. It was fun. A little weird. We went to “storytime” at our local library. The librarian was super cheesy (though I suppose you kind of have to be if you’re trying to entertain 0-18 month olds with songs and stories) and there were a lot more people there than I was anticipating.
Those types of activities are really awkward. If Snarfy and I had attended by ourselves, I don’t think we would have had fun at all. He was kind of cranky anyway. But there is zero interaction among attendees except that the librarian comes around to each baby and sings for a second before moving on to the next one. But the moms/dads don’t interact during the activities at all.
After songs and stories were over, we were allowed to stay in the room and play with blocks and trucks and whatever else was in the weird bin of toys. Most of the parents left after only a few minutes of playtime. Then it was down to the four in our group, and one other mom all the way across the room. One of our moms left, so then there were four of us total. I went across the room to introduce Snarfy to this lady and her son, and she introduced her son, but then I had to struggle to make conversation. It was just really weird. If you’re a new mom, which I know she was because I asked her, wouldn’t you be a little more open to conversation with another new mom? I’m a somewhat shy person myself, and I even got up to talk to someone new. I mean, come on! So after a few minutes of awkward and forced conversation, I went back over to my group.
I don’t know that I will go again. Maybe I will if it’s with our playgroup. Aside from the awkwardness of “storytime,” it was really fun to get out and see old friends and meet new ones. I’m really glad I started the group because it’s definitely nice to do stuff that I normally wouldn’t do on my own volition.
P.S. I know this is a lame entry but it’s been really bothering me how awkward that lady made me feel. I had to share.
