Mommy, this is MY playgroup

It isn't some big secret that these "play groups" that us parents, especially moms, want to attend aren't really for our children. Their for us. We disguise our meet ups with juice, sandwiches, and toys galore, but really we plop the kids down, hope they don't break something, and relinquish in the fact that we are surrounded by other mothers who are going through the exact same thing. I know, that was a pretty long sentence, but I think it works.

I was once in a play group. We met every week or so, sometime during the week and then the weekend as well. My motivation was "I need to get out of the house, meet some other moms so I don't feel so alone, and if Truly makes a friend or two, that's awesome." I am the mom sitting there, drink in hand, desperate for some adult interaction. The appropriate kind of course.

We would talk about our jobs, staying at home, husbands, boyfriends, life; it was so good to hear that my struggles were the same as these women. We all worried about things like autism, and praised silly things like the first poop in the toilet. I discovered I wasn't the only one who would ramble on and on to my toddler, it's normal! Completely normal!

As time went on, we discovered that although we were each desperate for the opportunity to connect with other moms, we each had a lack of one thing in particular. Time. Some moms had 2 or 3 kids, with schedules so out of sync, unpredicatbleness and not-enough-time-ness (yes I connected them) were extremely common in my play group. There were times were I wanted to go and Truly would ask if she would see her friends, but a glance at the clock told me we would not make it that day. The stack of papers on my desk told me we weren't going to make it that week, and my filled in calendar told me the rest of the month was off limits.

While I think play groups are great for children who aren't in school yet, they are sort of an essential for us mothers who kids are pre-schoolers and younger. So now I'm thinking of either starting another one, or joining a local play group. What do ya'll think about play groups? Are they helpful, are you in one, have you been in one?