MOPS brings Darien moms together

Written by Lynsey Santimays
Wednesday, 26 August 2009 07:58

In June of 2003, Lisa Hadlow was a mother who just moved to Darien from Canada, with three children younger than five.

While visiting St. Paul’s Church, a mother approached her about joining an organization called MOPS — Mothers of Preschoolers. Hadlow thought it would be a good way to meet other mothers and gain some friends, because she didn’t know anyone in town. “I was like the ideal member for this group,” Hadlow said, since she had three children of pre-school age.

Fast-forward six years later, and Hadlow has a fourth young child, and is now the coordinator for the Darien MOPS. What started out as simply a way to meet other moms has grown to become an integral part of her life.

MOPS is an organization that is about celebrating motherhood, meeting needs, and making connections through relationships with other mothers of preschoolers. “It is a time in life when women are really looking for comfort and support, and mostly to be understood by women in the same position,” Hadlow said.

The organization was started by eight Colorado mothers in 1973 who were looking for just that — comfort, support, and conversation. Since then, it has grown to become an international organization with 3,900 groups in the U.S. and 35 other countries.

The Darien MOPS membership is about 50 moms. The group meets every other week during the school year in the morning, from 9:15 to 11:30. When they meet, they are split up into tables, with about six moms, a table leader, and a mentor at each table. “A mentor is someone who has been through this all before and can offer support,” Hadlow said. “It can be someone whose kids are now school-age or even a grandmother.”

The morning consists of a breakfast, followed by a speaker who gives a talk on various mom-related topics, such as womanhood, marriage, and child-raising. “Last year, some topic examples were ‘Siblings without rivalry’ and ‘Children change a marriage’,” Hadlow said. “But they all focus on ‘Making Better Moms for a Better World’.”

Following the speaker, the moms engage in small-group discussions at their table, where every mom is free to share her own stories in a nonjudgmental and confidential environment. “It is just nice to know that you aren’t alone,” Hadlow said of the story-sharing times. “It is very reassuring and comforting to hear that you aren’t the only person whose child threw a fit in a supermarket.”

The last portion of the meeting involves a craft, which can be anything from jewelry-making to creating homemade Christmas gifts. The craft time is designed to give the mothers a sense of accomplishment through creative expression.

All of these activities allow for the women to socialize, vent, gain or share advice, or even just “enjoy adult conversation,” said Hadlow. And while the women are apart from their children for two hours, they are not far away. MOPS offers Moppets, which is a childcare program for the children of the moms, for infants through age six.

While the MOPS meetings are held every other Wednesday throughout the fall and spring, they provide other events and activities throughout the year. There are optional off-week studies, which vary from a First Aid class to Bible studies. In addition to the off-week studies, they also plan social events for the women, which usually take place in the evening.

“We’ve had a cooking demonstration done by Pam Anderson, a wardrobe consulting night, and even a pottery night,” Hadlow said. All of the activities are additional ways for the women to have fun and socialize, while also learning something.

The Darien MOPS has even extended its activities to the national level, by attending the annual MOPS convention. “I went last year, and am going again this year with six other women,” said Hadlow. Hadlow and her six fellow Darien moms will join 5,000 other women from MOPS groups around the world. “It is like a MOPS meeting times a thousand,” Hadlow said.

Mothers in the Darien MOPS cannot say enough good things about the organization. They describe the group as “warm, funny friendly, uplifting, loving, accepting, encouraging”, and the list continues. If interested in joining this organization, the registration is open now for the fall session. “We welcome all moms of young children,” said Hadlow. “You can even come out to give one meeting a try to see if it works for you.”

The fall session of MOPS begins on Wednesday, Sept. 9. They plan to meet every other Wednesday through Dec. 16, at St. Paul’s Church, 471 Mansfield Ave. For information about registering or the Darien MOPS, contact Lisa Hadlow at 321-8478. For information about MOPS in general, visit its Web site at mops.org.

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