Networking in the park with moms

Just because you’re pushing a stroller doesn’t mean you’re not interesting

roslyn costanzo sarah welstead

Roslyn Costanzo of Style Forage, looking more sophisticated at the park than I ever will

Here’s something they don’t tell you about new(ish) motherhood:  It’s hard to make mom-friends.  Oh, you interact with mums of babies and toddlers all over the place – at drop-in, at the park, at baby music classes – but half the time one of you is harassed or sleep-deprived or rushing to get to a food source before baby goes nuclear.  Or, 10 minutes into a nice chat, the other mum says something like “I’ve been using fish oil as a substitute for vaccinations – I’m just so worried about Bobby getting autism”, and suddenly it’s like you’re reliving every traumatizing blind date with a nutjob you ever had.

So you can imagine how nice it was when, yesterday at the park, I met a mum who met my standards for laid-back-ness (she didn’t seem fazed when Fiona, spotting apple slices at 50 paces, took up residence on her picnic blanket until the apples were well and truly eaten). Forced to speak at some length due to the apple situation, it emerged that Roslyn – for that was her name – is, like me, doing a lot of freelance writing while she’s at home with her 3-year-old.  She does glamorous PR/bylined articles while I do a lot of (much less glamorous) ghosting, but still.  Anyone who writes for a living is fine by me.  Well, except maybe Dan Brown.

Anyhow, I checked out her blog today and found a great piece on how – and why – even the most stylish of mums so often slip into a 24/7 yoga-pants-and-tank-top uniform that can be difficult to shake.  (I myself have 4 pairs of black leggings on constant rotation at the moment, and it’s hard to believe I ever wore high heels 5 days a week.)

I may never see Roslyn again (especially now that she probably thinks I’m a stalker for Googling her after a chance meeting in the park), but in the meantime it was a good reminder that there are plenty of interesting newish mums out there, even if they’re hiding their lights under bushels of well-worn black spandex.