Community: You Are Valued and You Are Needed Sister

A Note from the Author:
This blog post was written before our social distancing days, but the content may even be more important today than it was before. Take heart, sweet momma, because social distancing does not mean social isolation! We encourage you to stay socially engaged for all of the reasons included below. Say yes to texts, Facetimes, phone calls and virtual meetups. Reach out and initiate conversation. More than ever, we need each other, momma. Enjoy the read.

Hey girl. I see you. You feel your heart aching for community. You see the pictures of other women gathering together as you scroll through your feed. Then you see them getting together for girls’ nights or coffee or trips… and you’re like, “What the heck, where do they find the time!?” Or, if you’re like me at one point, you’re like, “I neeeed to find friends!”  

Ha. I get it. And here’s what I want to challenge you with. 

Get. ??Out. ?? There. ??

Send a text. Invite a friend. Say yes to an invitation. Say hi to the new mom at your child’s school. Volunteer. Go to the event. Maybe even (Should I dare say it? Okay. Here it goes…) stop hiding behind your never-ending to-do list. (Whew. Been there, done that… and since we’re being honest… still do it sometimes.) 

Here’s the deal. We’re not only better together, but we thrive when we’re together. Research shows that we were designed for community. We have a community-size hole in our heart and we’re missing out on our best selves when we don’t fill it. 

Here’s the research.

Take it from Dr. Caroline Leaf, communication pathologist and cognitive neuroscientist, when she says, “More and more of us, of all ages, prefer aimlessly scrolling through Instagram, Facebook, online shopping apps or random things on our smartphones or devices than going out for coffee with a friend or talking with our neighbors. Although we are more connected, we are more isolated and disconnected than ever before.” 

Okay, does that sound familiar to you? 

The ironic part is that even though we long for community, most of us don’t have it high on our priority list or know we want it and want to do something about it, but get a flashback of our middle school cafeteria as we anxiously scanned across the room figuring out who we’re going to sit with. Cue the armpit sweat.

Real talk.

Motherhood is amazing, but I learned firsthand that it can be lonely at times and not to mention it’s very obviously “other-centered,” leaving us mommas with an itty-bitty sliver of time to fill ourselves up. I’m willing to bet that you’ve felt that too. 

The hard truth: Mommas today feel more isolated than ever. We’re more tired and heavy burdened than ever before, which makes it so worth prioritizing time with other mommas that are figuring out this #momlife thing too. This is what it says in the book of Proverbs:

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.” -Proverbs 17:22 

Still feel like you need a little more understanding of why community is good for your soul? Okay, here it is. 

“Isolation is linked to a number of dysfunctional immune responses and increased blood pressure, which impact our overall well being. In fact, researchers saw that people who were lonelier produced more inflammation-related proteins in response to stress than did people that were more socially connected, which are associated with numerous conditions including coronary heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, arthritis, and Alzheimer’s disease.”  (The Loneliness Epidemic, Dr. Caroline Leaf)

So what are you waiting for?

Are you afraid of rejection? We all are. Afraid you won’t fit in? Same here. Afraid you’ll say the wrong thing? That’s where grace comes in. 

Here’s the thing, sister. We need you, your authentic, real, imperfect self. We need to hear your stories, laugh at our quirks together and share our latest Target finds with one another. 

So do it and do it now. Reach out, send the text, invite the friend, say yes. When you’re done laughing your way through a couple of cups of coffee (or wine), introduce them to this big, lively and loving community of women called Miami Moms Blog because we’re on the mission of creating meaningful community for mommas. Our heartbeat is a resounding “you can sit with us” to all mommas from all walks of life.

We have an events page that’s worth checking out. It’s how I connected to Miami Moms Blog.  It’s constantly updated with local things to do where you can meet other moms in person! 

Let’s Start Right Now

Now, if your heart did cartwheels even once while you read this blog, raise your hand in the comments below. Let’s start here… drop your name and social media handle in the comments below to start connecting with some local mommas right here, right now!