Out of the Gate

I am a stay-at-home-mom to three kiddos.  They are 1, 3, and 4 years old.  I love them dearly and I am so happy, thankful and truly blessed to be able to have my dream job.  But it is HARD.  

I have long wanted to start a blog about parenting.  I know there are tons of parenting blogs out there, and I am by NO MEANS any sort of expert in the area.  Mostly I want a place where I can express myself creatively.  I want a place where I can express my thoughts and views and vent about parenting difficulties. 

My blog is currently titled, Parenting: The Great Divide.  I chose this name because I had no idea that becoming a parent would feel so incredibly isolating.  Your friends without kids don't quite get how restrictive having little ones can be.  Although I have to say, I do have a few non-parent friends that are awesome!  But your time together has still become limited because you now have a brood of toddlers in tow.  And other parents... oh... well really, every single one of us knows how to do this whole parenting thing better than anyone else, right?  

There are so many hot topics out there.  Co-sleeping, nursing vs. formula, working vs. stay-at-home parents, choice of schools... just to name a few.  And of course everything is a competition.  Oh your little one isn't potty trained yet?  You don't feed your kids organic food?  You feed your kid McDonald's?  Oh your kid doesn't know his ABC's yet?  Yeah... I've already had my fill. 

My circle of friends has changed in recent years.  I still have most of the post-college friends that I made, and I love them dearly.  But we're spread out all over the place now, so even the ones that I feel like I connect well with are only seen at our occasional ladies night, or the chaotic breakfasts that we bring our whole families too.  I haven't really acquired many new friends to fill in the gaps though.  My two very best friends, of course, are my dear sisters.  They are really the only people that I really feel like I can totally be myself around from a parenting standpoint.  Because I know that they love me unconditionally and they won't judge me because I hate breastfeeding or because I let my little ones sleep with me when they are little.  

As a child, I remember having a community of parents that had a hand in raising us.  Our neighborhood was full of parents that cared for each others' children as if they were there own.  I don't think that exists the way it did back then.  I often feel like I'm out on my own little island.