Hopeful

I think things are finally looking up, in terms of my social life. Throughout this winter, I've felt like everyone else is out doing fun things, and I am stuck at home, with the world passing me by. In actuality, I bet everyone else is at home much of the time too, but it made my sorry-for-myself mood more dramatic to think that the world was having a fantastic time without me.
On Friday night, one of the neighborhood women with kids of similar ages to mine invited a small group to her house for wine and appetizers. We had such a fun time, and it was so nice to walk down the street right after the kids were in bed, and be there! I really hope to start doing more with the neighbors, and stop feeling like the 'new neighbors.' It's been a year already after all. It will be a great group to socialize with, even with the kids included, once the weather warms up again.
Saturday, A had another birthday party. I headed down to Apple Valley with the boys to visit Becky at her new home, and meet her 5 month old daughter, baby J. This was something that needed to happen, since we hadn't seen each other since our last birthday, when we went out to eat together and she shared that she was pregnant. Mike and A came down after the birthday party, and we had a nice dinner. The kids were all playing so nicely that we stayed out a few hours past bedtime.
On Sunday, I volunteered in the nursery at church (as part of the arrangement for dropping Colin off at nursery each Sunday). I shouldn't have to do it more than 4 or 5 times a year, and it wasn't as bad as I was imagining. After lunch, we went to see Sesame Street Live, Elmo's Healthy Heroes downtown. One of my docs gave us tickets, and we had a great view of the stage. We all really enjoyed the show, and popcorn, and cotton candy. This was the first time that we'd ever done one of these big productions, and it was a positive experience. It was so fun to watch the kids more than the show, to see the rapt attention and delight in their faces. After we got home from the show, and everyone got set up for napping, I went to Dick's to look at yoga clothes, then wandered through Target, and headed to the club with my Kindle and rode the stationary bike. It was amazing how just a few hours recharged me and put me in a great mood.