Two women share a sly smile and a nod in the park. One of them tries to quickly come up with an opening line.
No, they are not looking for their next date. They are moms out looking for friends who are also moms, which can be a trying, thankless endeavor, according to one mother.
“It is a lot like dating,” said mom, author, and WNYC personality Hillary Frank. “You have some false starts and meet some very nice people, but it is hard to find someone you actually click with.”
Frank is trying to make it a bit easier to form these elusive connections with a new bar night called Speed Dating for Mom Friends, taking place at the Bell House in Gowanus on Oct. 22. The event is aimed at pairing up mommies with similar life- and mommy-styles, said Frank — all in the space of a few hours.
“When you have a baby, you do not have a lot of time for socializing, so you have to make it worth it,” she said. “This way, moms can talk to a lot of other moms at once and find moms who fit them.”
The night will be set up the same as a regular speed-dating night. Each pairing will get four minutes to chat. At the end of the four minutes, everyone at one side of the room will move down one seat to make all new pairs. Afterwards, participants will receive a list of their mutual platonic attractions.
To get the conversations rolling, Frank plans to ask participants some funny questions such as, “What was the most ridiculous thing you have done because of sleep deprivation?” She will also put butcher paper and crayons on each table so that the lovebirds — well, mombirds — can write each other little notes.
Speed Dating for Mom Friends at the Bell House [149 Seventh St. between Second and Third avenues in Gowanus, (718) 643–6510, www.thebellhouseny.com]. Oct. 22 at 7 pm. $25.
