Making A Mom Friend Is Exactly Like Dating

It finally happened. I met that mystical creature known as Cool Mom at the local park and we exchanged numbers. I had heard of this rare phenomenon happening before, but never thought it would happen to me. Meeting other moms who I would want to hang out with is so much like dating that just thinking about it makes me nervous.

So there we are chatting about how funny little kids are, how tired we are, how beautiful the weather is, and she just whips out her phone and says, “We should totally connect.” We trade digits. We say goodbye. We go our separate ways.

Later that night after the kids go to bed, I pull out my phone and tap on the text app. I start clicking away, but before I hit send, my anxiety sets in. In the span of a few minutes, my brain does this:

Huh. What exactly do I say? Will she even remember who I am? Oh, crap. If I text her something too early she will think I am desperate. But if I wait too long she might think I’m a total flake. Do I observe the 3-Day Rule? OMG, this is stupid, just text her. She seemed pretty cool. I bet we totally hit it off and become BFF’s.We’ll have a standing weekly girls’ night and our kids will have sleepovers. Oh! We could totally do a family BBQ! She is skinny, though. I hope she isn’t vegan or on that caveman diet. But if she is then it is working, she rocked those yoga pants as if she actually does yoga. Ugh, I really need to go on a diet. Alright, I need to text this lady. Ask her to meet at the park next weekend. Will she think I’m being weird asking to meet in public? Hmm…I can’t invite her over here because then I’d have to spring clean this house. Her house is probably super clean. Or maybe it isn’t? She did seem laid back. I bet she totally has piles of laundry on her dining room table too. OK. I’m going to text her! Tonight! Um. Crap. What can I say that is witty, brief, friendly, casual, and that will not make her think, “Who the hell is this?”

This is so hard.

After waiting two days, I send a text to Cool Mom.

Hello! We enjoyed meeting you guys at the park the other day. We’ll be there with a picnic lunch around noon Saturday if you guys want to join us! J

Boom. Done.

And now the waiting for a response begins. This feels exactly like dating.