MOPS

Today was the kick-off meeting of MOPS (Moms of Preschoolers...which, in case you're confused, literally means you have at least one kid who doesn't go to school yet- I had some confusion as well). Anyway, I was convinced to join by some ladies I met helping with Bible School back in June before Frazier was even born and I'd already participated in two MOPS social events so by this morning I already knew four of the six people at my table. We meet at my church a couple of Tuesday mornings a month and there's breakfast (which today was fabulous) and then something else...like a speaker. We're divided into groups of about seven (including one mentor mom) and the groups take turns setting up, cleaning up, and providing breakfast depending on the Tuesday...we got a schedule today. My group (the orange table- Planet Grace...[the theme this year is "Together on Planet Mom"])...is scheduled for set up next meeting. Since he's younger than three months, Frazier was allowed to stay with me at my table. After that I'll have to leave him in the nursery with the Moppet workers. There were carriers and people nursing all around the room the entire time so I wasn't alone. He was one of three infants at my table! Sadie and Drew are both a few weeks older than he is, but within a month, I think. So, I informed him, these will be his friends. My first thought, really, was that I wasn't sure this whole MOPS thing was really me. For instance, I got to wear a green feather boa today because I'd had a birthday within the last month. (I also got a card for a free coffee at Mugshots and some fun size candy bars as a gift! :) But since I'm not entirely sure what is me as a mom, I thought maybe this should be me...maybe not the boa so much, but the other stuff. After all, I almost joined a sorority in college. Though I wasn't sure what to expect from this, I really did look forward to it and though I was also seven minutes late, I really enjoyed it. We just ate and talked and decorated name tags and filled out some get-to-know-you questionnaires and played a get-to-know-you bingo game. Once again, I have only praises for my fellow MOPS moms. They're nice, they're friendly, they're diverse, and they're fun. They're fabulous...and they're already my friends. I liked my group and my mentor mom- Patti (who I knew already) is great- I'm glad I'm in her group. She took Frazier and held on to him pretty much the entire time, only bringing him back to his carrier once he was asleep so I had my hands free to write and make my name tag. It was nice...I appreciated that. There were lots of decorations in bright colors, our name tags are shaped like planets, they did a "style show" with different moms modeling different wardrobes (soccer mom, working mom, new mom, etc all of them juggling things like kids and laundry baskets and desserts...one with a piece of bread stuck to her jeans with peanut butter). We got little bags of of mini Milky-Ways (get it...to go with the planet theme?), I ordered a T-shirt that says "Planet Mommyhood"...and I suppose some of that might have been a little cheesy. But we opened and closed with prayer. We got notebooks with everyone in our group's name and number. We left prayer requests for our mentor mom to pray over this week, and we have a "table challenge" to get together all seven of us before the end of September. My group's verse is 2 Cor 12:9a "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." I need to be reminded of that on a regular basis. I need people here...right down the street to look after me...and I need people to do for, too. I need to be needed away from home now and then. I need reasons for Frazier and I not to always be home even though that'd be the easiest thing right now (*it took me two and a half hours to get ready to go and we were still late today). I need to be encouraged in my faith and as a wife and mom. I need people to talk to. I need people to pray for me, examples to follow, other current moms to give me advice. And maybe they need me too. I realized early on in my pregnancy that I was going to need more friends who were also moms...and Frazier was going to need friends, too. I can't expect him to be sociable and outgoing if I'm not...plus if I'm not, what opportunities would he have to be? It occurred to me that since we don't have cousins or siblings around for him...I could only think of one kid to invite to his first birthday party. And that, to me, was terribly sad. This is my attempt at branching out- for Frazier's sake and mine. I'm looking forward to this year with MOPS...it's going to be good for me. And I'm grateful for this opportunity.
So bring on the boas.