Loner?

Generally I am a loner. I would rather spend my time at home with the kids or pass my evenings at home with my husband quietly. I have, at times, pondered the life of a hermit with a bit of envy. My lonely hut would have to have internet though for it to be perfect.

I was discussing the future today with one of my mom friends. The word has spread about our possible upcoming move next summer. Our ward is loosing people left and right so everyone gets interested when the topic of moving comes up. One of the possible assignments that my husband is kind of thinking about, maybe, would involve him being gone for six months at a time (but he would be home for the other six). When I talked about it here eyes got wide and she wondered if I could rent an apartment near family while my husband was gone so that I would have family near by to help with the kids.

Honestly that thought had never crossed my mind. I had pondered the possibility of having a housekeeper coming in to help out and even a regular babysitter but never spending half of the year in one place and half in another. I think that is the loner in me speaking. And yet it really is not lonely to consider staying where we are put waiting for my husband to come back from his assignment. We will have the military family around us to help out when needed. We will also have our ward family to help out and to worship with.

One of the reasons I will miss this area so much is that my ward really feels like a family. They have been there with us for so many things. Even after Evan's surgeries are over the other mothers in my ward are who I spend the majority of my social time with. When I left the park after spending some time with my friends I felt so uplifted and refreshed. Despite my loner tendencies the mother in me craves the friendship of other mothers and a sense of community.

I think that one of the biggest changes that has happened in me since becoming a mother is my need to connect with other parents. I need to know that my crazy kids are not the only weirdos out there. We need to be able to commiserate someone about some stage or behavior. That is one of the biggest reasons that I keep blogging and keep reading other blogs. It is nice to know I am not the weirdest mom out there, right?