Staying Connected

Last month I did something I don’t do enough: Shut down the computer, put away my work, my working mom guilt, my adult separation anxiety, and meet a friend. In real life. I had to write that last bit there mostly for my own eyes to see because I think I’ve fooled myself into believing that keeping in touch with my friends mostly by email or phone is good enough.
Most of my friends are busy moms and we’re all juggling a lot. There never seems enough time to get together without the kids or to have a real conversation when we get kids together for a playdate. And so we email to keep in touch and for me this creates a false notion that you know, we’re really staying in touch.
But no amount of email — and especially not the rushed “I miss you, hope you guys are well, when can we get together?!” types of messages — can replace meeting in person, even if only for an hour. One of my friends had a great idea for us to both go walking late on a weeknight. The kids were in bed (thus minimizing my guilt), the streets were quieter, and we had adult conversation full of laughter and advice. We both agreed we need to do that more often and we do!