Please
note, these articles solely express the view of the author and
NOT the view of the NCT
What has the NCT done for me?
by Sarah Tilbey, Winter 2005
On
November 30th 2004 ( incidentally my son's first birthday )
I found myself in a rented house in Kirlkiston surrounded by
packing boxes. Apart from my husband and son I didn't
know anyone else. It was raining and cold. All together
now, “aaa’hhh”
I
got through Christmas due to the fact that we had visitors and
every time I thought about making new friends I put it to the
back of mind and said to myself in the New Year. The New Year
arrived, it was raining and cold. Therefore, I began the
tour of the baby and toddlers groups in the area. If I
walked into one room and said ' Hello my name is Sarah and this
is my son Joseph ' I must have said it about 10 times.
Despite finding quite a few good groups ( I still go to a few
of them and am in touch with some of the mums ) I didn't
find one I felt particularly at home in.
I
felt despondent and guess what............... it was still raining
and cold.
Joseph
was born in Preston and I had gone to a NCT bumps and babes
group there. Quite a small group and we met in each other's
houses. Therefore, why not give the NCT in Scotland a
try? After quite a few 'phone calls, I tracked down a group
in Linlithgow held at the Low Port Huts every Thursday 10am-noon.
£1.50 includes a biscuit and drink. How could I refuse.
I
duly went along and there was one other lady who had twins girls.
She was lovely and we chatted etc. I went along the next week,
there was one lady who had twins girls. She was lovely
and we chatted. Went along the 3rd week - (come on don't you
admire my persistence ) - there were 2 other mum! This
was a major gathering, could I cope?
Well,
it all started from then........gradually the word was out and
we now have a good number of mums and dads!! at the Thursday
morning sessions. Always more welcome. Hopefully,
it shouldn't be so hard to find us now as we have a dedicated
person member who runs the group.
So,
what has the NCT done for me? Well, at a time when I was feeling
quite low about making like-minded friends I managed to come
across an toddler group that was not just that. It belonged
to a larger organisation and without sounding too pompous a
charity. One that if I needed could provide me with support
on most aspects of being a parent. I felt like I had found
a support structure and that help was only a phone call away.
For
me, a full time mum, I had found a way of channeling my energies
into not only going to a group every week but actually being
involved on the committee itself. This has enable me to widen
my circle of friends even further and find that I have a busier
social life now than before I had Joseph ( or ' BC Before
child ' as it is affectionately known.)
I
am now involved with things such as the newsletter that I never
ever thought I would be.
As
well as the Thursday group, I regularly meet up with friends
on other days and we go swimming, to the park, the children
trash each others houses (not mentioning names but those with
twins !) We even have the odd evening out - took
me 2 days to recover from the last one - should I be admitting
this ??
I
love living in Scotland and find the Scottish family orientated
, however, the NCT helped me feel at home very quickly and guess
what.....it has stopped raining!!!!!!!
|
|
Do
you have an interesting story you would like to share?
a
birth story perhaps, maybe a product review, or even a favourite
place for a family outing that you can't stop raving about?
Get in touch by
emailing
Joy, our editor
or by telephoning 0870423 0275. Your experiences and local knowledge
could provide other parents with help and support |
