Do We Need Mom-Friend Speed Dating? (I think maybe we do.)

I’ve seen several recent posts on some of the local Facebook groups from moms who are struggling to meet and form friendships with other moms. This is a problem I think about a lot. Lately, though, I’ve been wondering whether it needs to be so difficult. It seems like a lot of us want to be friends with a lot of us (OK, not my best sentence, but the point stands).

My current theory is that it’s the logistics that make Mom-Friending™ so difficult. You cool, smart, talented, kind ladies are busy! Maybe your kids are doing 45 sports, maybe you’re a single mom, maybe you work nights—there are thousands of reasons why you and your future friends’ paths may not have crossed yet.

So, how can we fix this?

Honestly, IDK for sure, but here’s my humble pitch (please read in a Don Draper voice):

• What if you could go into a relaxed atmosphere where everyone else in the room was also there in a good-faith effort to make friends?
• What if you could sit down with a glass of wine (or sparkling water, whatever floats your boat) and someone else handled the logistics?
• What if you got to talk to other moms one-on-one so that there were no clique-y or exclusion-y vibes?
• What if the event was short and sweet so you didn’t have to give up an entire day?
• What if there were funny and weird pre-chosen questions/short activities so that everyone (even introverts!) had an easy way into conversation?
• What if there was a structure to the event so that you could ask for/exchange contact information without worrying about whether you’re coming across like a stalker?

Maybe I’m the only one, but I want those things. And I think we could retcon the ‘speed dating’ format so that a mom can meet and have real conversations with several other moms, one-on-one.

If you’re like me, it’s hard to convince yourself to spend your precious free hours doing something that makes you wildly uncomfortable, like, just off the top of my head, making small talk with a bunch of women that you secretly think are much cooler than you are, who probably already have a million other friends, and who are only talking to you because they feel sorry for you. But I think it really might be worth it.

What do you think? Is this an event you’d come to?