Where Have All the Mamas Gone?

It's been an all-too familiar sight around our neighborhood this summer...

The playground.  The park.  The walking paths.

Empty.

And it makes me wonder:

Where have all the mamas gone?  And the daddys?  And for that matter...the families?

Being a stay-at-home mom seems to be a rarity these days.  I just didn't know how much of one, apparently.  As I've taken the twins for walks this summer-on various days and times of day, walking different routes, and in different weather-I can literally count on one hand the number of times I have seen another family at the park, or even out for a walk.  It's not uncommon to go for a 30-40 minute walk and see...no one else.  Even on the weekends. Often when I do see other people, they are contractors, landscapers, or handymen, taking care of projects while seemingly no one else is at home.

Last Friday, we went for a walk and to the park to play on a blanket for awhile.  We were probably gone for almost two hours, and in that time one father and his four-year old girl came to play at the park for a bit.  They were the only other people I saw.  No one else came to the park.  No one else walked/jogged/rode by on the path.  No one.  And this is far from unusual.  

I know there are families in our neighborhood.  It's a cute neighborhood near several great companies, and close to downtown.  The apartments, townhomes, and houses are all priced and sized just right for young families.  Heck, we do see families out one night a week.  All summer long on Wednesday nights local food trucks set up right down the street from us. It can be downright crowded on these evenings, which is when I really start to wonder where the heck all of these people are doing the day.

And this isn't anything against moms who need or want to work outside (or from) the home. Of course not.   In different circumstances, (oh, like having only one baby...), I might even be one of them.  But I just wonder...am I really the only mom that stays home in our neighborhood?  Does no one else go for walks?  Or even outside?  I hardly ever see people even playing in their yards.

I don't know where everyone else is.  It can make it lonely for a mama like me.  Staying home with two babies, I crave some adult interaction during the day. And I have met up with other moms and babies for play dates and playgroups, but those are such planned things.  There seems to be no chance for any general day-to-day interaction around here.  I thought that camping out or going for walks by the park would be the best way to do so.  I thought I would see other moms (or dads...heck even nannies) out for walks or at the park all summer.  It makes me sad that seeing another human being out in our neighborhood actually surprises me.

The twins and I just want to know if there's anyone out there who wants to come out and play.