When we first moved to Annandale 14 years ago, we had a 9-year-old daughter, a 9-year-old son and a 2-yearold son. I was a full-time stay-at-home mom with only one friend in the area and she worked full-time. My husband traveled a lot so I was really on my own.
I realized this in week one when my sweet 2-yearold jumped from his little tyke table and broke his arm in two places. He was pretending it was a diving board. It didn’t take long before I decided I needed to tap into the local moms and see if there were any playgroups in the area. ECFE was my savior. The boys would play and moms and dads would meet and discuss our kids. I made some lifelong friends in this group. It wasn’t long before we had a mom’s group and met at Waterfront once a month – Mom’s Night Out was born!
This was a great group. I looked forward to that night the entire month. Soon it grew from one table of six to three tables of 18 or more and this was before social media and Facebook. It was all word of mouth and putting it on our calendars.
I remember one mom couldn’t get away on Mom’s night that month because her husband was too tired and didn’t want to be alone with the kids. She told her husband she just had to run out for milk. Three hours later we were laughing and wondering if her husband had the kids in bed yet. Sorry dads …there were a lot of jokes at your expense on those nights!
These women were amazing and I started to feel as if I was no longer an island…. I had found land with these supportive and sympathetic women.
I recently noticed a similar group on Facebook called MOA (Moms of Annandale). I believe they also get together but they are able to post a question on their page and get immediate responses, no waiting for the monthly “meeting.” This is amazing.
Moms really need to support each other whether working in the home or at the workplace, mothering is challenging. When one mom suggested a cooking club last week my heart warmed. Our moms’ group did this too for a couple of years. This is such an amazing idea.
Our group was usually about 12 women and we each made 13 meals once a month and froze them. One day during the month we would all meet with our coolers. We would exchange the meals and set aside the 13th meals to be delivered to someone in need. There was always someone who knew a person who just had a baby or a sick mom or dad. These meals went to them.
I would then drive home with a variety of 12 frozen meals, the name of who made it, a recipe for each meal and the cooking instructions. We always used disposable pans or freezer bags so no need to keep track of Tupperware to be returned. Of course I kept each and every recipe in a folder so I decided to share a couple with you. Maybe you want to get a few friends together and try a cooking club. I also highly recommend a Mom’s Night Out, even if it’s just to buy milk! Ha!
Women are going to form a chain, a greater sisterhood than the world has ever known.
Nellie L. McClung
Taste of Home columnist Sandy (Anderson) Holthaus lives on a farm in South Haven, MN with her husband, Michael, and their children Zoe, Jack and Ben. Her heart remains on the North Shore where she grew up with her parents, Art and LaVonne Anderson of Schroeder. She enjoys writing about her childhood and mixes memories with delicious helpings of home-style recipes.
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