Socially Awkward

Last week we were invited to an Easter block party. It was a pot-luck/egg hunt and we were invited by our neighbors that live two streets behind us. My initial thought was YES, can't wait to go! Everyone in our neighborhood seems nice so far but I would love to actually get to know some of our neighbors better. Mike and I talked it over, we were worried about Olivia being around other people. The party was outside and we decided that if it was too crowded we could just leave.

We packed up and off we went. Olivia and I made cupcakes with bright pink frosting and sprinkles. We were nervous but looking forward to meeting our neighbors. We loaded the kids into the stroller and headed over. We were arriving about half an hour late (Peter had been napping). We walked around the corner to see the very picture of suburban bliss. There was a group of kids happily playing tag, several other kids were drawing with chalk on the sidewalk, another group of kids was blowing bubbles. There were groups of parents talking here and there. It looked like everyone was having so much fun. It was one of those beautiful spring nights. The whole scene could have been a commercial for the perfect neighborhood or something. As we walked up we were graciously greeted by our hosts who welcomed us warmly. We unloaded the kids and went over to the bubbles. The kids watched the other kids blowing bubbles for a bit but then that got old. Mike and I looked around for people to talk to but everyone was already involved in conversations. I bravely waved to a few of the ladies I'd met at Bunko but that was it. The highlight was Peter getting to pet a dog. We stayed for about half an hour, we didn't meet anyone, we didn't talk to a single other person. Mike and I both felt so socially awkward. I hope it gets better, it certainly can't get any worse!