I'm going back six years to when Rachel was seven or eight months old. I had closed my business and decided to be a mum full time and concentrate on my OU degree in psychology in my "spare time". I was slowly recovering from Post Natal Depression but was still really vulnerable. And my solid support network of my ante natal group were all returning to work so we'd meet up less. Life suddenly looked pretty empty and scary.
The random act of kindness was an invitation from a mum at church to coffee and chat at her house one day. She told me I could bring Rachel and it would be very relaxed. She then did the thing which was guaranteed to get me there, she asked me to bring someone else we knew who couldn't drive.
I thought this was a regular get together but I've never heard about this before or since in the same way and I've now come to realise that this was a small group of women coming together to help me. There were mums with older kids, some with young kids, some grans and some who had had miscarriages like me. In two hours I realised that I was far from alone and that there were women who knew what I was feeling and what I needed.
It changed my life that afternoon. I felt supported by a wider circle, less alone, and completely accepted by these women. And it continues till today.
It seemed like a random act of kindness but of course it was so much more; it was what women do best - support each other.
This month I am able to give back to a new generation of young mums in the community by opening my house once a month to the mums I know for chat, coffee and support whilst the kids rampage through Rachel's toys. I hope I can help even a small bit as well as that woman did (and does) for me.
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