No one ever warns you about how motherhood will change your friendships.

Before I became a mom, our group of friends was pretty varied. We hung out with men and women- some were single, some were married, and very few of them had kids. After C was born and the dust began to settle, I began to look around and realized that in the matter of a few months our entire social structure had altered. Our single friends started to disappear. Our married (without kids) friends started to fade as well. And since I didn’t know very many people with kids, our social circle got very small indeed.

Thankfully I was introduced to a group called MOPS (mothers of preschoolers), which is a group created specifically to address that demographic. At the meetings I began to meet a lot of women that were experiencing the same season of life as I was, and we could relate to each others stories about things like sleep schedules, car seats, and diaper creams. But more than that, they were women that I could connect to on a deeper level, that shared the same kind of joys and fears that I did.

Over the years I have drawn closer to these women and I am blessed to have them in my life. I’ve been fortunate enough to serve on the MOPS steering team for a few years and Retreat Weekend is always a highlight of my summer. We spend the weekend planning the coming year, divvying up jobs, and learning more about God and each other. Each of these women has had a positive impact on the way I parent my children, and the way I interact with other women. They are special in my life and I love them. I look forward to seeing what this year has in store!

And as much as I loved retreat, I really did get excited about getting back to these three!