Today was MY day!
The 1st and 3rd friday of every month I get together with a group of women at a local church from 9:30am to noon to have a MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) meeting.
Child care is provided but I opt to leave little Anna with her Daddy since Roger tends to take Friday as a "weekend" day. Ministers have very strange schedules.
While I chatted it up with the Mommas, Roger and Anna took a father/daughter date.
I adore MOPS meetings.
When I am there I am not just The MOM.
I am Jessica, the seminary student on hiates, the girl who loves to knit, the woman passionate about reading and writting, the chick who has a strange obsession with physical fitness. The goof ball who loves a good laugh!
The 1st and 3rd friday of every month I get together with a group of women at a local church from 9:30am to noon to have a MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) meeting.
Child care is provided but I opt to leave little Anna with her Daddy since Roger tends to take Friday as a "weekend" day. Ministers have very strange schedules.
While I chatted it up with the Mommas, Roger and Anna took a father/daughter date.
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| took this picture before I left this morning of them playing doll house |
When I am there I am not just The MOM.
I am Jessica, the seminary student on hiates, the girl who loves to knit, the woman passionate about reading and writting, the chick who has a strange obsession with physical fitness. The goof ball who loves a good laugh!
When you walk in the room you immediatly have a common bound with EVERYONE. Every single person there is there because they realize how challenging it is to balance being a mother to young ones and remaining sane.
The surface level conversations start off with how many children each one has, the difficulties involved with parenting small children and then get deeper as each mother opens up about their specific passions, their careers before and after having children, and how life has changed with each additional child. It always amazes me how fast a group of mothers can open up to one another when given the time and space.
MOPS gives us the time and space. (and some delicious food!)
Needless to say, the MOPS meeting was refreshing.
So many women with so many different backgrounds and life stories, gathered together with the common bound of motherhood.
The first meetings tend to focus on getting to know one another with a significant amount of sharing.
We each took turns introducing ourselves, talking about our passions (besides our children), laughing about the hard mothering moments we have all been through, and talking about the agenda for our MOPS meetings to come.
We also got to meet our mentors and got placed into a care groups.
I'm all about some care groups!
LOVE THEM!
During the time of sharing I am always amazed at HOW MANY women in the group have husbands that are currently deployed to Afghanistan. These women are quickly taken under the wing of the group. They are SUPER women in just about everyones eyes. Most of them have two or more small children that they are trying to raise on their own while their husbands are away.
You really feel an awesome since of community amongst the MOPS women.
A tribe of mothers!
There's nothing like child rearing to help you realize the importance of community.
I have found MOPS to be a safe, quiet, non judging place for mothers to come together to form a supportive community. It is a place where we mothers can focus on refueling ourselves so that we are better able to tend to the demanding needs of a home full of preschool energy.
How do they have THAT MUCH energy?
So many women with so many different backgrounds and life stories, gathered together with the common bound of motherhood.
The first meetings tend to focus on getting to know one another with a significant amount of sharing.
We each took turns introducing ourselves, talking about our passions (besides our children), laughing about the hard mothering moments we have all been through, and talking about the agenda for our MOPS meetings to come.
We also got to meet our mentors and got placed into a care groups.
I'm all about some care groups!
LOVE THEM!
During the time of sharing I am always amazed at HOW MANY women in the group have husbands that are currently deployed to Afghanistan. These women are quickly taken under the wing of the group. They are SUPER women in just about everyones eyes. Most of them have two or more small children that they are trying to raise on their own while their husbands are away.
You really feel an awesome since of community amongst the MOPS women.
A tribe of mothers!
There's nothing like child rearing to help you realize the importance of community.
I have found MOPS to be a safe, quiet, non judging place for mothers to come together to form a supportive community. It is a place where we mothers can focus on refueling ourselves so that we are better able to tend to the demanding needs of a home full of preschool energy.
How do they have THAT MUCH energy?
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