Thanks OD!

This community really is fabulous! I am constantly amazed by the neat, friendly and funny people I meet on here.

Case in point – my last entry was a listing of my current woes and bitches, the main one being my lack of friends. And as luck would have it, a fellow OD’er I have never met, talked to or received a note from left me a wonderful note about a child free network she has joined to meet other like people and pointed me to their website.

I checked it out yesterday and it was like this huge light bulb going off in my head! I poured over their website, reading about how their organization came to be, other people’s experiences and the events various chapters hold for their members and I finally realized – I am not alone. There are tons of other people out there just like me, my age, in the same situation – friends having kids, no longer have time for you and you turn around one day and find yourself standing by yourself. The only issue is – how to find other people in the same boat as you? This organization sure sounds like a great place to start!

Of course, there is no local chapter in my area so now I am faced with the daunting task of – do I become the founding member of a chapter in my town? I am taking on a lot of responsibility lately by becoming the board president of Make a Difference Michiana but I am still finding it doesn’t fulfill me as much as I had hoped it would. I don’t feel the connection yet with the other board members, the sense of community I hoped to have with them all. And why? Because most of them are my age or a little younger and have younger children that take up most of their time! *sigh*

So, I am going to do it – I am going to send them my $50 to get a start up packet and then follow their instructions for starting a new chapter of No Kidding! in the South Bend/Mishawaka, IN area. I don’t know if it will fly, I don’t know if anyone will show up but I do know I will feel a little better at least trying. I have been writing another founding chapter member in the New Jersey area and she said her and her husband had the same fears when they first started – that no one would come. They decided though, if they only made friends with 2 other couples, it would be worth the time and money to do it. I sure hope that is the case for us too!

So, thanks OD for bringing together cool people to help and support each other. And thanks most of all to Little Liz for pointing me in this direction! I will be sure and let you know how it all turns out.