I get by with a little help from my (mommy board) friends.

On the advice of friends, I joined a “mommy board”—an online message board where fellow moms can share tips, tricks, stories, and camaraderie. It is my replacement for the Bar Association. Within days my vocabulary changed from being a BIA (Best Interest Attorney) to SAHM (Stay at home mom). My DH (that’s “dear husband” on a good day, or “dick head” on a bad—FYI) just got used to decoding my attorney acronyms…now he has a whole new language to learn.

I was lucky to have an ‘in’ to an already established mommy board. One of my good friends from law school met these ladies nearly 10 years ago when they were planning their weddings on The Knot. They have supported each other, online, through weddings, divorces, births of children, deaths of children, breastfeeding, solids feeding, sleep issues, sicknesses…and everything in between. It was like walking into a big clique, but being welcomed with open arms. Where else can I run when its 2am, and I’m up because my kid has just pooped so hard it shot out of his diaper and into his hair? AND find somebody who has experienced the same thing? It has truly been a godsend. And, it has given me the courage to do something else—make mommy friends IRL (“In Real Life” for those not indoctrinated).

You see, when I left my career, I also left a big piece of myself behind, and it was hard to get out into my new world when I wasn’t even sure what my new identity would be. Would I be a crunchy granola organic mom? A mom who reads ALL the books? A mom who thrives on chaos? My new mommy board friends helped me sort out a lot in those early days—mostly reassuring me that even though I didn’t spend 19 years and over a hundred thousand bucks getting a formal education for my new job, I was prepared to handle it. And, I don’t have to know what kind of mom I will be. Today, I was a “play with Little People on the floor and sing silly songs about stinky poops” kind of mom.