8.20.10

Eleven years ago today I was set up on a blind date. Back in 99' blind dating was exactly that "blind". You didn't have the option of doing a quick facebook check for relationship status, nor was I matched on my 10 capatability levels on E-Harmony.com all I had was the sheer trust in my best friend that she valued our friendship enough to want to see me again. Now days a person can text, tweet, and update their facebook status as to how the date is going, and send out an SOS if you really need help, or have your friends follow your GPS signal on MobileMe if you aren't home when you say you should, but in 99' all you had was the hope that the person wasn't going to turn out a total creep and if all else failed you could take your quarter and hike it to the nearest pay phone. Well glad to say my "blind" date turned out alright and here we are celebrating eleven years since the first day we met.

So now we fast forward to 8.20.10. Today I hosted Isla's first playgroup date. Now I could have started out with something small, but that wouldn't be my style. I wouldn't say I always go over the top, but a part of me wanted to make sure Isla had the best time possible. So today we had 16 people over to the house. I have blogged before about Isla's playgroup and how I would encourage any mom to get involved in something like it. It was great to have a group of mom's over that can look back at the last several months with our kids and laugh at the good times and joke about the bad. We laugh about all the things we swore we would never do, but now do it with ease and talked about small victories like switching to whole milk and flipping the carseat to front facing.

I love the fact that in eleven years things have changed from a care free blind date to super mom playdate coordinator, but I wouldn't change anything in the world for the last eleven years. I think the hardest part of becoming a new parent is the fear of loosing "you" and just becoming "mom". A part of me feared becoming the woman in sweatpants in the middle of the day at Walmart, rocking a ball cap with unwashed hair, and the thought of a thinner day in my all to distant past. You have so many people that will make comments like "do "X" now because when you become a parent you will never "XYZ". My advice is don't listen. When you become a parent you will give up your pre-baby life, but you can keep all the important parts of your life in your new life if you try. You will gain new things that are important and things that once seemed important won't be as anymore.

In 11 months of being a parent I don't know it all or even half of what I will learn over the course of how to be a parent, but I have learned to enjoy every minute of every day. Never forget that the good days will come and go and the bad days will be over tomorrow so don't forget to smile and one day you will look back and laugh. You will see the new parent pictures on facebook with the smiles and laughs, but what you don't see is the picture where you are sleepless and have been puked on and peed on all in the same day or even at the same time. Know that everyone has good and bad days whether they share it or not. :)

So here is a small part of "the playdate" and happy to say we have already agreed to host another :)