Galaga Never Changes

All my friends are going back to work. OK, not ALL of them. Some of them never left work. Some of them still have little kids. But a LOT of them are going back to work, and leaving me.

When I first moved to Tampa, I had the great fortune of lucking into a "playgroup" that was just starting up. This group of fabulous women have become like sisters to me. They make me laugh. They make me have fun. They make me realize that I am NOT insane. Or at least that I'm not insane by myself. They take my money (Bunco bastards.) This "playgroup" that originally started as a way for our CHILDREN to interact has actually become a way for ME to interact. And now...they are going back to work. Two of them moved away. :( One is back at work full-time. Two are now working part-time. One has her kids in school full time now, and she's the community super volunteer - she's busier than most people I know that have paying jobs. Anywho, all of this has made me think about about my social circle.

Before you have kids, you have friends. Then you have kids, and suddenly most of those friends don't really want to hang out with you anymore. It must have something to do with the fact that the non-kid-ers are not at all interested or fascinated by how many poopies your kid had today, or the debate over which kind of diaper you use, or your bitching because your husband bought the wrong kind of strained peas - again. So, you eventually lose touch with some of those friends. Other hang tough, and one day will tell you wonderful things like how you are the "rock start example of parenting because you get a babysitter and still party" and how you "haven't changed one bit in 6 years". I love those friends. However, in light of your new, baby-obsessed station in life, you tend to gravitate to other people in your same situation (known jokingly as "mush-headed mommies".) These people watch your kids for you when you have had ENOUGH. They take you to Orlando and Sand Key and get you drunk. (Like THAT'S hard - the drunk part, I mean...) They call when they haven't seen you for a few days to make sure you are OK. They send you emails when there are going to be good yard sales. I love those friends too. But now they are leaving me.

Don't get me wrong. I get the whole miss-being-a-grown-up thing: real clothes, grown-ups to talk to, lunches at places where there are no play areas, adult validation. I also get the whole I'd-really-like-a-little-more-dough thing: vacations, real clothes, pedicures, paying off some bills. I have basically built my entire day-to-day social structure on my stay-at-home mom friends, and now they are going back to work. And leaving me.

So it has dawned on me that in the very near future, I may have to re-build my social structure on something else. Maybe a hobby (I want to take golf lessons - any hobby where you get to drink beer and drive a golf cart has GOT to be a good thing.) Maybe work-related (if and when I go back to work.) This thought is scary to me. I don't like change very much. I like things to stay the same. But they never do, do they? I hope my sisters-in-insanity stay nearby - I think most for them will. I hope I get to spend more time with my non-kid-ers who have stuck with me. But it's still scary.

I wish I had some brilliant, appropriate quote to close this historic blog #2 with, but I don't. I'll just tell you that I had the BEST time today playing Galaga! Yes - the old-fashioned Galaga. They have one at this pizza place that we went to. Since it's such a lame game for kids nowadays (spoiled punks - they can't appreciate a great thing when they see it), I was the only one playing it. And I kicked ass! Level 27 - Almost 170,000 points. Some things change, but I guess some things do stay the same. Like Galaga.