#RealityMoms is a place where writers like myself can share about being a mom: the good, the bad, the ugly, the funny, the practical…you name it, RealityMoms has covered it, or will in the future.
I’ve had the privilege of writing for the site since it launched, and through that experience have “met” some great women. Want to know a RealityMoms secret? We have an awesome Facebook Group especially for the writers and through that space, we get to “know” each other a bit. (Sorry, you won’t be able to join it- we don’t mean to exclude anyone, but…in this case we’re exclusive!).
Have you ever thought about what it would be like if you met your online friends IRL? (That’s “in real life” in case you don’t know!). I had the pleasure and the privilege of attending Mom2.0 Summit in sunny Orlando, Florida with some of the #RealityMoms team, and can I tell you? It was better than I could have imagined.
Picture yourself hanging out with the friends you’ve known for years, the ones that you can say anything to and are comfortable with. The friends you can share a “frose” (frozen rose—and yes, it’s as good as it sounds) with a few hours before happy hour. The friends who nod in agreement, and without judgment when you say, “My kid’s acting like an asshole.” I’m not talking about the moms who nod and then say to other people “Can you believe she called her kid an asshole??” I mean the people who get it. Because guess what? Sometimes I’m an asshole, so of course, my kid is going to be one sometimes too. Do you have that group of friends who you can let your guard down with, who you can drop pretenses with, and who know that you can’t take yourself too seriously when it comes to being a mom? If you don’t have those types of friends, even just one, I’d encourage you to find them. Because it’s those types of friends that can help create sanity when motherhood can make you feel like you’re losing it.
Picture that group of friends: those are the women that I spent three days with. I had never really met them before, other than online, and in a matter of minutes, I felt as if I had known my whole life. The #RealityMoms women recharged me, helped me feel like myself again, and reminded me that there are genuine, loving, supportive women in the world. I value friendship, honesty, and openness, and am at times disappointed when my IRL friends are not willing to open up, or to be honest, or feel like they have to be “perfect” all the time. I love that the RealityMoms I met are not only honest in their writing, but in their interactions too. In meeting this group, there was no awkwardness, no lulls in conversation, no topic off limits, and no shade thrown. There was nothing but support, laughs, a few drinks, and understanding.
To me, RealityMoms is meant to be a place for moms to connect, relate, and commiserate; meeting the women behind the screens was a breath of fresh air and a life-changing experience. I know it’s not that easy to bring online friends together, and that not all meetings will be as wonderful and seamless as this one. But, I write this to tell you that if you’ve read something on this site, and felt like you’d probably like that mom in person…I can tell you that you’re probably right. #RealityMoms rock!
