Parenting Through the Seattle Freeze

This is a blog post by Verity Mom finalist, Danielle Gahl

Like many imports, I have experienced the Seattle Freeze. Who knows what causes it but it can make parenting an especially isolating experience here. This is the advice I got from native Seattle-ites as a new mom. 

1) Join the Group even if it Doesn’t Fit

When we took our birth class, I didn’t think I had anything in common with the other parents-to-be in the room. There were super-marathon running lawyers and world travelers and artists and musicians and for good measure, an Olympian. Lemme just say I am NOT that cool.

But someone started a Facebook page and as due dates got closer, so did we. Babies were born, freak outs were had, and by the reunion I finally got to really meet my best friends.

We are all moms, and that gives us an amazing commonality. So PEPs? Co-op Preschool? Parenting a Tween with a Cell Phone? Join it!

2) Go to the Meet Ups

Seattle Public Library has story-time for kids of all ages. Birth & Beyond has Mommy Meet Ups for almost every day of the week. Seattle Parks and Recreation has indoor play times that include a bouncy room! (Did I mention all of these are under $2?) Consider it the mama version of going to a club and mingling.  

3) Say Hello

This is where it gets scary. You can’t be a wallflower at these events, even if that is your natural inclination. Make eye contact, say hello, ask for a diaper, the time, where the foam noodles are, or what they think of Grover. You have something in common already, but you can’t find out just how much until you step forward.

4) Make the first move, many many times

This is where it gets horrifying. Ask for emails. Or, as the fabulous VM candidates Lindsay and Charity showed me, make cards with your email on it.

I would plan play dates at the library (a neutral location where you can reserve rooms for free) and invite all the cool moms I had met that month. Sometimes, one person would show. Other times, fifteen. And I made the invitation oodles of times. It is not like dating--you can ask another mom to hang out three times before the no-show is an actual rejection.

5) Move from Computer to Coffee Shop

Puget Sound mamas already know that one of the best ways to connect is online. Just make sure to take the extra step and get your friends ‘in the computer’ to become your friends ‘in the flesh.’ (Rule 4 also applies here.)

But some of these tips only work for moms of younger children, like me. What are some of you Verity Moms with multiples, tweens or teens doing to melt the Seattle Freeze?

Danielle