We have isolated ourselves into the world of lunchboxes, diapers, and Pinterest. Sure, diapers are great to have in a crunch, but do they have your back? No, you know what I mean. You need your girls.
It seems like every movie that comes out in theatres now that has a powerhouse woman in the lead has at least one or two ladies in her tribe. Or maybe a gay white guy... Whatever. I'm getting sidetracked.
We need to start from the basics. What defines a tribe? After looking at the Merriam-Webster definition and skipping over the first couple very ancient definitions that probably needs a major update I came across something they came to similar to a good definition that we can go by. Ergo, a tribe is a group of persons having a common character, occupation, or interest. I'm just going to rest my hand on my forehead for a second while I kind of chuckle to myself. Whew. Ok.
Noooo. Just no. Your tribe is the girls that you might not actually have anything in common with but can call in the middle of the night and they answer that phone! Your tribe might consist of someone you met while grocery shopping, or at the playground, or in the insane moms group on Facebook where everyone likes to cat fight like two year olds. Good news is you might have found your tribe. Of course, you're going to hit your trials and tribulations to rule out the crazies. You're going to have your bumps in the roads like any other relationship. There's going to be ones that just cannot be there all the time because they are about to lose their minds. But there is a TRIBE there.
Now are you thinking to yourself you don't have one yet? That's okay, momma. We've all been there. I see you.
You might need to surprise yourself and get those kids dressed and go to church on Sunday morning. You'd be quite amazed at the funnies that'll turn up at church one Sunday morning just to catch a break from the screaming.
Don't forget you need to get a little multicultural here. You need to have at least one Latina that can cuss you out in another language and cook you out of the kitchen. You always need someone with an accent you have no idea where they're actually from but you pretend that you do because it would be an insult to their culture if you didn't and you're going to pretend you ate that food that you hid in their napkin.
Don't forget you need one that'll go old school on your ass and remind you of your 5th grade teacher. And of course you need the athletic one because who else is going to make you stop eating all the junk food that you're cramming in your mouth when you feel like crap?
You can find them everywhere! You can literally open your mouth and say I want to be your friend. There is a huge chance that girl needs a friend too!
You can find friends on Instagram... But let's just try to keep them local, okay? Finding them in your very own neighborhood is the best.
Here's the thing about these moms... Some of them might not be single, they might be going through a divorce or, they might have a boyfriend. But you need your tribe because you can not do life alone. Sitting there watching TV and binge watching Netflix is not going to get you anywhere in life. Have fun evenings together where you're cooking and letting the wild children run around having fun. You need them more than they need you sometimes. You each have your own experiences that you can share with one another to help you get through life. It's hard being a single mom, but it's harder being a single mom with no friends. Don't be stupid. If you haven't found your tribe, go find it. They're looking for you, too!
