Maintain your social life: Remember when your Friday nights were booked with cocktails and fancy dinners instead of baths, PG television shows, and bedtime stories? I never appreciated how much time I had to socialize before my kids were born! My husband and I still joke about it. What the heck were we doing pre-kids? We had so much time on our hands, and yet, we had no idea. After Megan was an infant, all I could do was take care of her and, if I was lucky, maintain some sense of order at work. When the weekend came around, going out with friends was out of the question.
As a mom with a demanding job and little time to socialize on weekends, it can be very difficult to maintain a social life. And yet, we all know that belly laughs with friends, honest advice, and genuine sympathy are saviors of our sanity.
We all know that connecting with friends is a key factor to our overall happiness. Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, notes a study indicating that having five or more friends with whom to discuss an important matter leads a person to feel "very happy." Other studies have shown that strong social connections can actually help lengthen your life.
Here are some things I do to ensure that I can incorporate my friends into my already busy working mother life:
Arrange weekend dinners with other couples: One of my favorite ways to stay connected with good friends is to have a couples' night. We have friends, as I am sure you do, with kids that are similar in age to my children. Our friends come over around 3 p.m., we have dinner around 5, and everyone heads home at 9 or so. The kids have a blast, the adults catch up, and all without the hassle of staying out too late and throwing off our routine for the rest of the weekend.
Coordinate weekday lunches with friends: Optimize your work-time freedom and grab lunch with a friend. A few of my friends and I are so committed to this that we have a regular monthly lunch date. Unless there's an emergency, everyone needs to be there!
Bring your kids along: This may seem contrary to the point, but if there is no other way to get you out of the house or office, then find ways to include friends and the kids, too. You might hit the zoo, go to the park, or get everyone out for a walk.
Samantha Knowles is the author of Working Mom Reviews. Have an inside look at the male brain and understand what they want in a relationship. He Is Not That Complicated. Learn about eliminating the problems related to hypothyroidism at Hypothyroidism Revolution
