As moms, we like to spend our time with other like-minded moms. We stick with women who are of the same religion as us, have the same political beliefs, and parent the same way. And while it is good to spend time with those women, I think it’s really important to surround ourselves with women who are very different from us.
I’ve got a good friend, or at least I consider her a good friend, that is very different from me. I got to know her over the summer at our park playdates. We share very different views on religion. She has a blended family, I don’t. She’s lived a much more cultured life than I have as she has lived in many different states. But you know what, I really like her! We have found common grounds and she honestly helped me discover some things about myself that I didn’t know. Some might say we don’t have anything in common.
But guess what, we are both moms! That should be enough in common, right?
I know it feels safe to have friends that all have the same viewpoints and have lived very similar lives. True, but I also love hearing other people’s life stories that are so different from my own. I feel like I’ve lived a very sheltered and average life, so I kind of like to live vicariously through other women who have experienced some really cool things!
We may have different opinions, but that should not stop a friendship from forming!
With so much contention in the world right now surrounding the difference of opinions, it feels so nice to be able to hear another person’s opinion and simply just listen. It doesn’t need to create hard feelings. We can have the mutual understanding that we won’t see eye to eye on everything, and that is just fine.
So, venture outside of your comfortable group of friends. Talk to that other mom at the park that has tattoos. Become interested in the kind of life she has lived. We tend to let first impressions dictate how we view someone else from that moment on. But I promise if you listen to her story, you may come to find out that you really like her! And she may just get you to open up about things you wouldn’t talk about with anyone else because it’s not a safe topic. That’s my experience anyway.
