Thanks Somerville Moms

When I moved back to Somerville in September everything was different. This time I had two-year-old twins and very different questions about our community than I did fours ago when we left. This time it's been more important to know where all the playgrounds are opposed to all the bars and restaurants (though this is still important).

The weekend we moved back I ran into an old friend and his two kids, and was instructed to immediately join the Somerville Moms Yahoo Group (thanks for the great advice, Scott). It was started in 2003 by some moms who were attending a New Moms group,and now they have 1700+ members! They post questions that range from Pox parties (prompted a heated debate which was quite insightful), clogged milk ducts, how to get a 2.5 year old to take medicine, where to get waterproof mittens, and lots and lots of ISO and FREE.

Maybe it's because we're all living in a somewhat transient community, and certainly it's because we all have children, but the questions and responses in this group seem very relevant to me.

I looked for something like this right after the twins were born, when I had a little time on my hands between naps.  I found a suburban Meetup, which looked promising but wasn't, and joined the local chapter of the the Mother of Twins group, but even that doesn't compare to the activity on the Somerville Moms Group!  It's like having hundreds and hundreds of active and interesting friends.   I sometimes receive over 50 emails a day reminding me of a preschool open house, letting me know there's an Open Gym for the kids at the YMCA, there's kid-friendly music at a local venue, or asking if anyone has experience with re-circumcision, travelling with two-year-olds, and just about any topic you can imagine.  Regardless of whether it's relevant to me at the time, it's been very informative!

So thanks Somerville moms.  You have a wonderful community!