Makin' Friends

65 days until due date! Yowza!! JBB and I think Cookie will arrive on April 1. 

Tuesday, JBB and I spent four hours at the doctor's office. Turns out I didn't pass my initial glucose screening, so I had to do the 3-hour test, in addition to my regularly scheduled appointment. Whoa - not fun. But, the good news is, I passed the 3-hour test "with flying colors". Thank God. Four blood draws and three hours later, I felt like a human pin cushion.

The silver lining of the doctor's visit - I made a new friend! When we checked in, the office manager told us to "get comfortable" and that there were two other women who would be doing the 3-hour test that morning also. One of the women came in shortly after we did, and took a seat near us. I immediately noticed that she had on an outfit that I seriously coveted, and that she looked like someone I would hit it off with. She pulled up a chair to prop her feet up on, and started writing thank you notes. After about an hour of uncomfortable shifting in my seat, trying to get comfortable, I asked JBB if he could snag me a chair that I could prop my feet up on, as my fellow glucoser was doing. Well. JBB has never met a stranger, so as he grabbed the chair beside my future friend, he struck up a conversation. And that was all it took.

Over the next 2.5 hours, my future friend and I covered every topic under the sun. How far along we were (she's having twins!); whether we were planning on breastfeeding or not; how we met our husbands; working in non-profits; if Khloe Kardashian was in fact the product of an affair and not Robert Kardashian's biological daughter (per the cover of my In Touch magazine); if we were going back to work or not. We didn't draw a breath. We even decided that since we didn't really know each other, or any of the same people, it would be okay to tell the baby names we had picked out. Turns out, she is my exact age, got married over the summer and then got pregnant right away, her husband is older than she is like JBB and I, and on Friday they're moving about four minutes away from where JBB and I live. A friendship ripe for the picking!

While she was in for her 3rd blood draw, I turned to JBB and said, "We will be friends. I will make this happen." After I said it, I realized - the further removed you get from college, the harder it is to make new friends. College seemed to provide a built in system for meeting friends, and for a few years after college it was easy to meet new people through co-workers, friends of your newly made college friends, apartment complexes, etc. By your 30's, most people have been at the same job for awhile, and if they've lived in the same town for a significant period of time, have met most everyone in their friends' circles. Making friends is a bit like dating - the more time passes, the harder it gets, and the more awkward you sometimes feel, putting yourself out there to see "if you click."

Luckily, I have a great group of friends that I have collected from all areas of my life - hometown, college, work, people I've met through family and friends, etc. However, I've been telling JBB, while I'm home this summer with Cookie, it is my mission to find other moms in or near our neighborhood who I can go for a walk with while pushing our kids in the stroller, or someone to go to the neighborhood pool with on a hot day. I'm sure there will be times when I don't want to load everything up in the car and drive to Tipton, Broad Ripple, or Plainfield. I'm giving fair warning now to my sister-in-law and brother, who live 5 minutes away...you will see LOTS of Cooks and I on this maternity leave. Get ready.

When JBB and I moved into our neighborhood in July, it was about 110 degrees for the rest of the summer, so people weren't outside too much. Then, we just got busy with wedding planning, honeymoon, etc. and haven't met as many neighbors as we'd like. (I'm spoiled from growing up in a neighborhood that did block 4th of July parties, neighborhood scavenger hunts, and people actually congregating on front porches and patios every night in the summer. I want this for my family). Luckily, our neighbors to one side of us have three young kids, as do the neighbors behind us. We are friendly and wave when we see each other, their kids trick or treated at our house, etc, but we haven't progressed to actually socializing. Now, we do adore our 91 year old neighbors to the south, Paul and Elnora, and Cookie and I plan on spending a lot of time visiting them this Spring. I'm just not sure they'll want to go swimming or power walking with us. So, my plan for any and all neighbors I encounter with young kids is to borderline stalk/kill them with kindness until we exchange numbers and get to walking!

Anyway, back to the doctor's visit. The new friend potential fell into my lap, and I wasn't about to let it pass by.   Once we were both pricked for the 3rd time and settled back in our chairs, I cleared my throat and said, "So, this is a little awkward and I feel like I'm asking you out, but would you want to meet up this Spring once the madness has settled and go for a walk or something?" (I'm summarizing here...) and, much to my relief as I was starting to feel like a creeper, she said "absolutely" and we set about trading numbers, with her informing me I'm in her phone as Lindsay - fellow preggo at glucose test.

I think this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Here's hoping to making many more. And of course, to all the great ones I already have...don't forget about Cookie and I up in Carmel! We are open for any and all play dates, girls nights, movies, etc. Have baby, will travel. (I think. I hope. I could be totally wishful thinking here.)