I mentioned in Monday’s post that one of the things that kept me sane during Tim’s trip away was my community. I don’t think the importance of community can be overstated.
My community checked in on me and Clara while Tim was away. Long-distance friends texted and called. Nearby friends brought me dinner and wine and kept me company. Other moms brought over their little ones for play dates. My own mom babysat Clara while I went to yoga class one day and volunteered another day. My brother came over to give me a break on a Saturday morning. My brother-in-law and his girlfriend babysat in the middle of the week so I could have some time to myself (which I spent exercising). My mother-in-law took care of Clara one night so I could have girl time watching ‘The Bachelor’. Basically, my community saved my sanity.
I’m so thankful for each of these individuals who made our 10 days not-as-lonely. I think all in all I spent time with over 15 people, which was such a blessing! I never see that many people in just one week! And that’s not including the friends I saw when I went to church group.
One place we’ve found community is in our small groups at church.
It’s one thing to have friends and acquaintances who I can count on to have a great time with (and I’ve talked about my struggle with friendships during this transitional new-mom period in a past post), but it’s a separate blessing to have individuals who I can count on during the times when I need someone to simply show up.
As a sidenote, sometimes I struggle with asking people for help, and asking people to show up for me. However, I took this as a challenge during the time Tim was away and really made an effort to reach out and ask people to come over and either babysit or spend time with us. I didn’t expect everyone to bring wine – but hey, I never say no to wine!
I’ve given a lot of new mom advice over the past few months, but I cannot stress the importance of identifying a community enough. This can go for anyone, not simply new-moms, but it’s important to surround oneself with people that can be counted on – people that can left us up when we’re down, and who can show up when we’re lonely or need companionship. Being a new mom can be especially isolating, so it’s necessary to identify those people we can truly call our community, and to lean on those people when we need them.
I’ve found community among our immediate family, church members/friends, and best friends. Sometimes I forget how richly blessed Tim and I are to be so connected with the wonderful people around us.
Where have you found your community?
