Mom Tinder: Part One

Making friends never used to be a problem for me. In high school I always had some activity keeping me connected to a group of friends with similar interests whether it was band, theater, or a tragically stereotypical goth stage. Once college rolled around there were intramurals and study groups and when all else failed I just paid for my friends and joined a sorority. Even my working years found me surrounded by an amazing group of colleagues I was proud to call friends as we bonded over pointless meetings, bizarre client behavior and the miles of red tape we navigated each day.

Then, 6 months ago, my whole life changed. My family and I moved to a city where we knew not a single soul. On top of that, we found ourselves financially stable enough for me to quit my job and stay home with our two children, something I’d always longed to do but had never been able to afford. For the first time I found myself alone with no pool of people to draw on for potential friends. A few people suggested mommy and me classes but in order to make my new role work we had to adhere to a strict budget. There was simply no room for those kinds of extraneous expenses. I tried cozying up to some moms at the local story hour but felt stonewalled every time (or I was Mom-Friend Blocked by my children). It seemed everyone knew each other from back in the days of birth plans and new parent classes and they were not looking to add to their group. Days would go by where I would speak to no one outside my immediate circle and this extrovert found herself sinking deeper and deeper into the lonely isolation of a late to the party stay at home mom.

And then I found mom tinder.

To be fair, it’s not actually called mom tinder. It’s called Peanut but it’s seriously Tinder for finding mom friends. The second I downloaded the app I was off and running. Sort of. The fact is, I have never actually used Tinder. My husband and I met the old fashioned way…alcohol and college. I grew into dating when there were no apps, no swiping, and the closest anyone got to online dating was CraigsList and OkayCupid. I had no idea what to expect from a mom-friend dating app. Let me tell you what I found.

Pure and utter awkwardness.

TO BE CONTINUED

What kind of awkwardness will she encounter? Will she find her one true mom friend love? Or will disaster strike? Find out next time on The Young and the Mom-Friendless