Yooohoooooo- you there... with the kid.

I am at that age. All my friends are having kids and I’m excited for them when they do. I put in effort to see them. I go to visit. I sew. I bake. I bring food. I’m happy to change diapers and feed and clean.

And then it starts to happen-

My best friend invited me to come down when she goes into labor.
That turned into getting the blanket email announcing the birth that everyone else got including co-workers and not getting a call or personal email until several days later.

I invite a new family over (new = baby is now 5-10 months old) for dinner.
I get an enthusiastic “YEAH! That would be fun” from the new mom.
That turns into a “well, with all the baby stuff we have to pack, why don’t you come here for dinner and we’ll order take out.”
And then that turns into, “why don’t we meet you at a restaurant at 5:30.”
Which turns into new dad showing up alone because the baby is sleeping.

Or my best friend stops calling or visiting. Ever.

As the Mommy blogs multiply and I rack up the miles on my car visiting everyone, I am more and more inclined to write the anti-mommy blog. It’s not that I don’t like kids… or even that I don’t want them. Quite the opposite. I’m just not sure when it was that the meaning of “having a baby” turned into “our life stops and any friendship we had is now meaningless.”

I mean COME ON!!! Babies can travel! They won’t break. I swear.

And so, on the cusp of starting my own family, questions rumble around in my skull… will I “den up” in my house when I have a kid? If so, for how long? Will I hurt my friends as they have hurt me? Will any of my friends who have had kids put in as much effort as I have?