Making New Friends

Hi K.,
I am so sorry about the loss of your husband. I just can't imagine how hard that must be. You sound like a very strong person. If you need a friend, I would like to volunteer :) I have a few friends, but no one seems to have time to get together, so I have been also wanting to meet some new girlfriends. My hubby is great but he works long hours and I just get very lonely. Message me back if you would like to talk. I would love to hear more about you. I live in Garland...don't know if that is anywhere near you. I'm here if you want to email, meet for coffee, whatever you need!

So sorry to hear of your situation. You are on the right track in seeking supportive women. Find a church that has a grief support group, or maybe those separately. Many of the hospitals have a grief support group that meets there. Definitely look for a church with a women's bible study you can join. You will find the support you need there. By the way, my friend was widowed at 25. She was devastated. She made some changes to help her cope such as a new career and she moved closer to old friends/family. After a few years, she was happily remarried and has a wonderful life. Best wishes.

K.,

I am so sorry for your loss. That must be very, very difficult!!!! Check out meetup.com. I know it sounds strange, but you can type in something that interest you and find groups of people who meet up periodically to discuss topics or do a sport, whatever. It's not a pick up kind of thing.

Good luck to you!!

L.

K.,
You are on the right track asking for help. That is a big step and a great one toward health and wellness. I would like to suggest a group called MOPS, Mothers of Preschoolers. I am a mentor mom for the one at First Baptist Plano. www.mops-fbcplano.com We have a great group which is small enough to get to know everyone. They do a lot of fun activities during the week. They are going several places this week, even though we don't officially meet until September. If you go on the website and contact them, they can let you know where they are meeting and you can start getting to know some great new friends! If you want to go to the official MOPS website, you can find out where other groups are meeting. This is non-denominational and they are in many of the various churches. Each month, they have speakers about everything from dealing with your toddler to house plants. They also have a craft time and we learn a lot of fun things for moms to do. There is something to do every week. Check it out, you will love it.

K.,

What a strong, strong woman you are. You should be proud of yourself.

Try to find groups that are focused on things you enjoy - like a reading club at the library, Home Depot classes that teach you how to improve your home, a class at the rec center, an exercise place, etc...

Where do you live? I am in the Mesquite area if you would like to meet somewhere. I don't have any friends either :).

E.

Hi - First off, let me say I'm so sorry for you loss. ((((hugs)))).

When I got divorced a couple of years ago, I was in your situation. Then I discovered "www.meetup.com" and found tons of social groups that I was interested in. They have groups for nearly anything you can think of. There are also several single-parent groups, Parents Without Partners groups, etc. Even playgroups for kids. I've made tons of new friends and since I belong to several groups, there's always something going on in one of them if I feel like getting out and socializing.

I hope this helps!

Church is the best place for great friends and conversation. If you find a church like the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, they are the exact same church no matter where you go in the world. Each congregation will have the same layout and type of people. They are a very compassionate church. I am very sorry that you and your two year old are without your husband. There are also normally a lot of play groups you can find. I don't know if you live near Town East Mall, but there is an indoor playground right next to Dillards in the center of the mall. Many times during the week in the mornings, you can find playgroups between the hour of 10:30am and 12pm (noon). I am 31, and I grew up here in Mesquite, TX. I have three children, 2 girls (12 & 13), and a boy (7). I have lots of friends with children ages 2-4. We do play dates at my pool, at playgrounds, we have book clubs...tons of activities. If you are interested you can email me back.

K.,

I'm not sure where in Dallas you live. My church in Lakewood, Wilshire Baptist, has a single moms group that meets one Friday night per month for dinner and conversation. Childcare is free at the church with a reservation. We usually go eat somewhere not too far from the church. Let me know if you are interested and I'll let you know when and where we are meeting next.

Hi,I'm sorry for your loss of your husband. My husband is my best friend and work partner. I don't know what I would do without him. I know that there are alot of people at my church that have been through so much. I highly suggest getting involved in a loving church with people to help you and your child. Being around people who have been through the same things, and how they have survived, but don't focus solely on the loss. I will be praying for you.

In a time of grief and sorrow a Church family can be so helpful. I hardily recommend Church, especially a Sunday School class. Other good places are where you go to get fit. Curves is where I go and the women really interact. I have made some great friends. I speak from wisdom. My husband is still alive, but away 95% of the time working and I don't have children at home any more. I will pray for you. Good luck, L. W.

Dear K.,
I am so very sorry to hear about your deep loss. I can't even imagine how hard things must be and how much you are affected.
You sound like a very strong person, though sometimes being strong isn't so fun in hard times. Keep on going.

The church I belong is really wonderful. I joined about 9 years ago and there is a whole organization for women called Relief Society, which is actually the largest women's organization in the whole world. Different congregation's Relief Societies have different activities but the thing we all do is meet as women each week during church. During this time your sweet two year old can attend the nursery and have a snack, singing time, and games. The friends I have met in Relief Societies all across the world are so dear to me and the ones in my congregation now I see almost on a daily basis to chat or have playgroups or book clubs, movie nights, dessert nights, etc. I highly recommend it!

To find a congregation near you you can go to www.mormon.org
and enter your zip code. You can then find a close by congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and you can check out the Relief Society there. Just to make sure there is no confusion...we have no connection to the polygamist groups around the country that people mistakenly call Mormon-fundamentalists. They are completely different and not affiliated with us. My hubby has only one wife and that is me! :-)

My friends have playgroup every Friday morning and this Friday we will be going to Bumper Bowling with our little ones. Let me know if you would like to join us and I will give you more info.

Again, I am so very sorry to learn of your loss. I know that you will be able to get back on your feet again.
Best Regards,
A.

I am very sorry to hear about your loss. I can't even imagine how hard this is...

We moved back here a couple of years ago (after being gone for 10 years) and although we have a lot of family and friends here we don't have any friends with kids. So when my daughter was born last year -- I needed to be around people that had kids. I enrolled my daughter in Kindermusik -- which she loves -- and I have made friends with several of the moms in the group.

The other thing that I did was join Metromoms -- a local moms group that has events and a discount card. They have events all the time that are kid friendly and I have met a lot of moms there that I have become friends with. http://metroplexbaby.com/MetroMoms.htm

hope this helps.

Most of my gal pals are church friends and they are the best kind.....They stick with ya!
I attend New Liberity Baptist Church in Garland on 333 W. Centervill Rd.
We just had a salsa dance night at a cool clean fun place in Carolten called the Acava Azule (blue fruit)...it was so fun!
Me and some my gals went and had a blast!
We would love to have you in our group!
Regards,
C. Lewallen
Owner of Classy Chasy’s Art Studio
Located at 1110 Bard Dr., Garland, TX
For classes call: ###-###-####
http://classychasysartstudio.blogspot.com

K.,

I'm so sorry for your loss. My prayers are with you and your family.

I have not experienced that pain but I did have the pain of losing myself in my kids and my husband. I almost went into a depression state where I did not want to go out of the house and didn't want to do anything.

The first thing that helped me was going to church. I now go every Sunday and Wednesday and have developed friendship and even family type relationships.

The other thing that REALLY has helped me is I started a home based skin care, health and wellness company. I have some great friends and we have a lot of fun together. We get together at least twice a month. But we talk every day in some form. We just went to OK last month and laughed all the way up there and all the way back. In addition to that we are making some extra money. But even more than the money the friendships have helped me become the person I used to be and we have so much fun.

I'd love to invite you to hang out with us and get to know us. Even if the business is not for you we'd love to embrace you.

I'm 36 and most of my friends are from 26 to early 40's.

Please keep in touch.

Take care and God bless!

hello K.. i am 34, divorced, and a mother of one (3yr old). I am also very sorry to hear of your loss. I have to say in reading some of the other responces it seems like you are not the only mom out there in need of some good girlfriends, i know i would really like to have a couple. i don't know where you are but i am in dallas (east dallas) and i would love to get together with you and maybe some of the other moms too for some coffee, a glass of wine, chocolate cake, margaritas...i don't know ;). maybe we could set up a little outing or something and all meet each other. there is no better place to get love and support than from a good group of women. i hope to hear from you.

I am truly sorry about your loss. I could not imagine going thru that. I am in the same boat with friends. I am recently divorced and all of my friends are happily married or do not have kids so I spend most of my time with the boys or alone. I am not sure where you live but I live in Rowlett and would love to meet for dinner or coffee or anything. Just adult conservation with someone who has experienced loss and that wonderful life of motherhood would be nice.

You can try neighborhood churches, the Y or park district, book clubs at the library, classes at a school (art, music, exercise, etc) or store (sewing, scrapbooking, etc.) Maybe a support group if it doesn't drag you down. But anything that you are interested in, get more involved and other people who like the same thing will be there.
Sending prayers your way!