I am a member of many parenting communities or birth boards on social media. I love them and I find them great to chat to mums who have babies who are around the same age. I may never meet these women but I feel like some of them are my best friends.
One particular group saw me through the worst time in my life. They were, and still are invaluable for me. They kept me going, they helped by listening when I needed a rant or if I was having a down day. They did a kitty so that I could get to my Milo when my husband couldn’t drive me and the extra went towards presents that made my eldest sons life easier when mummy and daddy were away for many days at a time. They even sent flowers for my Milo’s funeral.
Some people think these groups shouldn’t exist or just want to bring them down. Those people have never experienced the love you can feel through the words someone posts. Yes, they can also go the other way and bring you down but then you just step away from the keyboard until another day.
There can be times where these groups fall out and go onto form splinter groups. These groups are great to keep in contact with people who have left the original group but I wish they didn’t have to happen. My life would be so much easier if there was just one group for each of my children. As it is, I have 3 children and 5 communities. Lots of members overlap but others don’t and they are usually the ones who are important to me.
A Milo shaped hole. 