Finishing a conversation with your friends when kids are around is –
Hard. It’s hard. I know it’s hard. There’s the toddler across the room that is suddenly climbing onto the counter or getting into dog’s water bowl, or wants in your lap, the baby that starts crying and wants to nurse, the older child that suddenly needs your attention desperately, and before you know it, you and your friend have forgotten what you were talking about.
Oh, have I been there. On both sides. I’ve been on the side where it’s your child that’s walking off at the park or falling off the swings. I have been there when you have to jump up and run away from your friend who is in the middle of pouring her heart out to you. I’ve also been on the end where I’m pouring my heart out to my friend and suddenly her child starts screaming and our heart-to-heart is interrupted, forgotten, and filed away because the child takes precedence.
I know you can’t ignore the child that is about to shock themselves silly by sticking a fork in the outlet. I know I can’t let my 3 year old wander off at the park. Yes. I know some things can’t be ignored, and when you’re a parent of young kids, you have to remain hyper vigilant to your kids’ needs during all their waking hours.
But mamas, please, for the love of all things good, finish that conversation.
Take Care of Your Kids, But Also –
Yes, PLEASE, go get that child down off the counter. By all means, pick up that crying baby and feed him. But please, don’t forget your friend with whom you were in the middle of a conversation.
It hurts, a lot, when you are ignored and forgotten. All parents know that it is hard to have a conversation with anyone without being interrupted when you have little ones. It’s next to impossible.We all know how important it is to spend time with ADULTS when you’re with kids all the time. But sometimes it seems like parents forget what it’s like to have an adult conversation.
Let’s remember. We have needs as adults that only other adults can fill. We want to see our friends and have those conversations where you ask their advice, where you vent, where you share intimate details of your life, where you have that heart-to-heart. But we can’t ever do that if we are forgetting “where we were” when we come back to our friend after stopping that near crisis caused by our toddler.
Don’t leave your friend hanging. Don’t leave your spouse hanging. And don’t leave yourself hanging either. Maybe it’s you who was sharing when your child needed you. Just come back with an “anyway” and keep that conversation going! We all know that our conversations are likely to be interrupted. But let’s not let our friendships be interrupted, too. Our kids have needs, but mamas have needs too, and our friendships are one of those needs. Keep your friends, mamas. Finish that conversation!
