Leadership Retreat Ideas – #246

Hear how MomCo leaders are planning their year and hosting a mini retreat for their leadership team. Emily Kahn and Janna Sharp of Front Range MomCo in Castle Rock, Colorado share what leadership looks like in their group.

We'd love to connect with you! Send us a direct message on Instagram or Facebook or email us at leaders@themom.co.

You can also find our cohosts on Instagram: @andreafortenberry, @ivymamma and @sherri_crandall.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Welcome to the Momco Leadership Podcast. We believe that life and leadership are better in community. We're here to equip and encourage you as a leader and mom. We'll talk about real issues and practical tools to help you grow in your leadership, motherhood, and faith.

SPEAKER_03 0:22

Well, leaders, welcome. Today we have Emily and Jana with us, and they are leaders in their local Momco group. And Jana also happens to be on staff here at Mom Co. And we invited them today to talk about what does a leadership retreat or leader planning look like in their group? So we here at Momco we give you a leadership retreat plan that you can follow, not meant to follow it step by step. They're open ideas for you. And Emily and Jana are going to share a little bit about how they take time in the summer to share to plan and to prepare for their Monco year. So Emily and Jana, welcome. Glad to have you here. Thank you. It's exciting to be here. It's so fun. And um, just like every other mom, we worked out uh kid care and work schedules and showed up for this moment in time. So I appreciate it. Thank you for doing that. Well, I want our leaders to get to know you guys just a little bit so we can hear how you are, moms and leaders. And uh so would you tell us a little bit about yourself and your momco story? And Jana, why don't you kick us off? Yeah, sure.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

So my momco story started in 2014 when I was looking for a new job, and a friend of mine worked at the Mom Co in Denver, and I had recently moved to Castle Rock, Colorado, and which is not far from Denver, and was looking for a job and applied for a job at the Mom Co in the IT department. And God just worked it out where I got the job. I was not a mom yet, I was just a young married, and I got the job, and I just fell in love with Mom Co., which was Mops at the time, and uh loved working at Mops. And then later, so my first child was born in 2017, so then became a mom in 2017 to my daughter Abigail, and then was a working mom. And so I was working still, and so I never had attended a mops group yet as a mom. I, as a staff member, we would visit groups and just kind of get context and learn about what mops was. But then um when my when I was pregnant with my second child, my son Isaac, in 2020, well, he was born in 2020 when I was pregnant in 2019. I was like, I think I might want to try being a stay-at-home mom. Like, just give it a try for a season. And then he was born in March 2020, which, as everyone knows, was like the end of the world as we knew it. And so I was so excited to stay at home and be able to go to Mops and be a mops mom and like join that community. And then obviously, like most uh groups in the world, our group paused during you know, the shutdown of COVID and everything. So I was so sad that then I wasn't able to be a mops mom. Um, but then our group started back up the following fall. So I was like, yes, please, let's start a mops group back up. And so just jumped on leadership. And um, my daughter was in preschool already, so then I just had my little guy with me, but was just like, oh my gosh, like it was my lifeline being able to go to mops as you know, a stay-at-home mom. It's like so demanding. Yeah. More demanding, I thought, than working. Like my thing of going from working to being a stay-at-home mom is like, I don't get any more good feedback from like my boss anymore. My boss just like yells at me to give them snacks. So yeah, so I was the mom that was like, I don't care what we do for these two hours, as long as my child is in that room and I'm here with a cup of coffee and can finish a sentence, I am like thrilled. Um, so then I jumped on leadership, was on leadership for that year, coordinated the next year, and then the year after that, Emily and I coordinated together then for two years. And then I think it was this past year that I kind of stepped back because I am working full-time again, back at the Mom Co. So happy to be back on staff. A my kids are both in school now. So I am a table leader at our momco group and just still, it's still a lifeline. It's still just an amazing place to be able to sit around a table with women who are going through the same stuff I'm going through or have gone through, and to have a mentor mom that can speak in, and all of it is just like even going back to work full time. A lot of people are like, okay, my momco season is over, or I'm ready to step back. And I was like, I'm not ready. It's like I don't think I can coordinate and work full-time at the same time because it would be like having two full-time jobs. But I was like, I'm not ready to like be done with being a part of Mom Co. So I kind of felt that again this year where I was like, I'm just gonna take it year by year and see like what happens. But 100%, I love it. I'm not ready to give it up. So that yeah, that's a little bit about my momco story.

SPEAKER_03 5:54

Well, I love it. A lot of moms call momco their lifeline, so it's that's fun to hear. And uh, listeners, I will tell you, Jana is the one that keeps our IT department completely organized. And uh we love her. And uh, Jana, you're never allowed to leave again. So there you go.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

I'll take all the good feedback now that I'm back.

SPEAKER_03 6:17

I know. No more demanding. Now you can actually check things off your to-do list, which I feel like never happens in mom world. So I love it. Emily, how about you? Tell us a little bit about yourself and your momco story.

SPEAKER_02 6:33

Yeah, um, I am going into my sixth year as part of Momco. I again also joined when it was Mops. Um, my first baby was a COVID baby, um, a little later than hers, but um born December 2020. So that was my first pregnancy, was all during COVID, and then first postpartum was kind of in that weird like COVID is happening, but we don't want it to still, you know, kind of situation. Um so I joined um our group when my um oldest was like nine or 10 months old. So very much still kind of in those like trenches. Um and yeah, it was the lifeline, it was a lifeline for me. Um I my first postpartum was really rough. I had really bad anxiety and really bad like postpartum OCD. Um, and um I found a like a lot of support at momco. Um and it kind of grounded me and was like, okay, so what's what's actually anxiety and what's just like normal mom? And and but also like we all share a lot of the same anxieties and just having that community um was really important, you know, lots of tears, lots of laughter um every year at every table. But um yeah, so um yeah, and I've since, you know, it's continued to still be that lifeline and be supportive. I've had kind of a bumpy motherhood journey in terms of pregnancy loss and infertility and things like that. And um, I've gotten just so much support and prayer, like through every mom and every leader at Mom Co. Um I joined leadership my second year. Um, and I think we were table leading together, and that's how we kind of ended up. I mean, we like knew each other and were friends kind of, but not, you know, as good now. Um, and then started coordinating the next year, and then we had two glorious years together coordinating. Um, and then Jana left to go back to work. Um, again, still part of our group, which I'm very thankful for. Um, and so last year I coordinated solo, um, which was a big task, but I have we have a great leadership team that is like always willing to step in and help and everything. And then um, yeah, going into coordinating this year again solo, but with a good team behind us. Um yeah, I just love mom co because it it connected me with a lot of moms that like I might not have otherwise found or even been connected to um and been friends with. And um so I love that we're all very different, but we like have motherhood and like loving Jesus in common. Um and that's enough to keep us together.

SPEAKER_03 9:27

Yeah, a hundred percent. Well, I love um the point of what you said in that momco helped you understand that you weren't alone in your experiences as a mom. Um, and you're right, like there's a lot of anxiety in motherhood, and some of it is just being a new mom. And I just shout out all those moms that became moms during COVID because that that was a rough time to become a mom and feel like you were part of a community and not alone, and so um that's great, and then also gives you a chance to grow in your leadership and grow in what you're doing, and so thank you both for being leaders in your group. Um, as we start to talk about leadership retreats, I think one thing you said, Emily, that um really is at the core of what we do as leaders is want to provide the same or better mom-co experience for the moms in our community that we had. Like we all have a mom co story about what it means to us, and so then our heart is to provide that for future moms that are coming, um future moms, even generations beyond now. And so the leadership retreat or planning time is really an opportunity for us as leaders to take that desire and kind of put some ground to it, put some feet to it, and make it possible. So, what did that planning time look like for you guys in your group? Emily, do you want to share as the coordinator of a group what that kind of looks like for your group?

SPEAKER_02 11:25

Yeah. Um it's changed a little bit in like the last couple of years, honestly, partially because we have grown. Like we um have like I feel like we've almost doubled probably our group from where like when we started, which is also coming out of COVID. So our leadership team grows every year too, and there's just like not enough time for for like some things. Um, but we, I mean, I feel like even as our ministry like keep things pretty simple, like my motto last year was like connection over rather over production. Um and so, you know, focusing on connecting at tables and welcoming moms rather than like having big productions and um lots of games, which are great and fun and stuff. Um, so we kind of take that same approach with our um retreat. Um, to keep things simple. So um it used to be kind of just one night, like two to three hours, but um, in the last couple of years, we've lengthened it to like an afternoon. So still not like overnight or not long or anything, but usually like four to five hours in an afternoon, um, which is as for mom, like for moms, is hard to give up even four to five hours. Um, and you know, I had a lot of guilt even of like asking that the first time, but I was also like they've all said yes to being leaders and like love this ministry and like love momco, and so they will be there and they were, and you know, with no complaints or anything. Um, so we spend time, you know, like eating because everyone loves to eat. So um, you know, sometimes we do like potluck, like um, like we'd have done like a potluck nacho bar. Last year we just did like a popcorn bar and everyone brought their favorite candy. Um so like just snacks and stuff. And you did the cute mocktails. Oh, yeah, we did the mocktails, which I think was in the plans for last year.

SPEAKER_03 13:22

There's something about meeting around food that if you're gonna watch me eat a nacho, then you probably will be my friend afterwards because it's not pretty. It's not pretty.

SPEAKER_02 13:34

Yeah, absolutely. Um, so yeah, we eat and like connect and have fun, sometimes do like some kind of icebreaker game. Um, sometimes our games are really silly because I also think like being silly together is important. Um, but just connect and get to know each other because we have some moms that have been on leadership for years, some even longer than I have, um, that have been a part of our group. Um but then we always have at least a couple new moms that are coming onto leadership. And so I want to make sure everybody knows each other, at least, you know, name and like stage of life, um, so that when something comes up, they can feel like they're not asking a stranger if they need help, like on a team and just connect with each other. And um, you know, it kind of branches out like leadership, you know, leads their tables and everything like that. But um, you know, they're the core like of the group, so to speak. Um, so yeah, just having that connection time. Um, I do spend like a little bit of time doing some like leadership development, using some of the Mom Co like videos and sometimes activities just to like teach a few skills. Cause again, this is like also a leadership development opportunity, and that's something I really value in my personal life and just like with Mom Co. Um, and so I want people to feel equipped because there are leaders who step in and are like, you uh, you know, you asked me and I prayed about it, and I said yes, but I still don't feel equipped to be here. Um and so um, you know, I want them to feel equipped. Um, but and then spend some time kind of doing like vision casting of just like what is momco, what's the heart of momco, um, what momco is and isn't, you know, being like a Bible study is not what it is, but it is um, you know, an outreach, um, which I love Stacy's video in the curriculum about this and the porch video I'm planning to show this year because I think that video is I honestly don't really need to present anything else like that.

SPEAKER_03 15:37

So just watch this video.

SPEAKER_02 15:38

Yeah, just watch the video and we'll be like, it's an excellent video. Yeah. Yeah, it's awesome. And the the accompanying like activity and kind of like eval um worksheet thing is very helpful, and I intend to do that too. Um but yeah, just talking about that. Um, and then we spend probably about half of the time kind of getting into like our nitty-gritty details for the year. Um, so we usually kind of split up in our kind of roles, like all the table leaders, all the mentor moms, creative team, welcome team, things like that, um, split up and just kind of discuss and talk um about different ideas or even challenges or things from last year that went well or didn't work go well. Um and then we come back as a group, talk about anything that came up with that, and then like get into planning um all of our speakers and crafts and like things like that. And I also use that time as the coordinator to like delegate things, um you know, like hey, own this icebreaker, own this devo, whatever. Um, or like also empowering moms to like own something that like an idea um that they had that they wanna they think we should try because I can't take on everything and I don't want to take on everything. Um and so I'm like, yeah, that's great. Let's do that. And also like, how can our team support you in, you know, trying this idea? So um it goes by really fast the time. Um I feel like we usually and we end with prayer and usually start with prayer too, but um yeah, so spend just an afternoon together. Um and that's kind of the basics of what it looks like logistically.

SPEAKER_03 17:25

I love it. Very intentional with what you're doing and um really modeling that that idea that we want you here as a leader because your heart is in the right place. We can teach skills. That's what I always say. I can teach you how to be organized, I can teach you how to communicate. I can't teach you to have a heart for the moms sitting in your group or the moms that aren't in your group yet that you want to see there. So I think that's that's excellent. And Emily, I just want to give you a gold star for leading and delegating and calling things out in other leaders. That's excellent. That's excellent. Jana, any anything you want to add to that for your planning time?

SPEAKER_01 18:16

Yeah, um, first of all, yes, double gold star to Emily because she's amazing. She's extremely organized, but also like so willing to like empower others and like pouring in. And it's just been amazing. Part of what I love about momco and what I loved for myself as a leader is in that season of being a stay-at-home mom, it's so easy to feel sidelined, you know. But as a momco leader, it's like I still got leadership opportunities and development and still felt like I was growing and being challenged as a leader, not just as a mom. So that's one of the reasons I love uh momco and momco leadership because like I know other moms feel that same way is like I'm just a stay-at-home mom. It's like, no, you're a leader and you can continue to grow in your leadership as a stay-at-home mom, or not a stay-at-home mom if you're a working mom or whatever, you know. Um, one thing I wanted to point out is that at our group, we try to plan our entire year as best we can at that retreat. And we've found that it makes it easier on us as a leadership team to just have a really good framework for the entire year so that we don't feel like from week to week or month to month, we're having to replan and like regroup and figure out all these details. And so I found that really helpful for us to try to have at least like a scaffolding for the year as best we can. So um yeah, and I think to just getting those ladies in a room, like try to get everyone in there and we include our entire leadership team. It's not just the coordinators or just certain people. I think that's super important to have everyone in that room feeling like they're part of the team and they're part of the group that's actually planning out the year. It's collaborative for sure.

SPEAKER_03 20:11

Well, and the planning ahead for that, because we all know mom's schedules are crazy. They've got to figure out, you know, can I get time off work or can I find child care? Can we, you know, is this a weekend? Is it, you know, do we have family vacations? Like all those kinds of things. It can be um kind of a logistical nightmare to get that all together sometimes, I know. But to have it planned out and then for them to know that when they come, it's going to be worthwhile. They're not coming and then everybody's sitting around going, okay, what are we gonna do? I don't know. I think of um, okay, old Disney movie, but uh uh jungle book where the monsters sit and go, I don't know, what do you want to do? I don't know, what do you want to do? That is the thing that will kill participation. People want to know that they can come in and be in line with a plan. And so that's that's very helpful. And Jana, like you said, to be able to plan out your whole year, even if it's just the the bare bones of it, like even if you say these are the topics, it gives you a place to go or to pivot if you have something you wanted to talk about, but you need to swap it with something else at some point, rather than feeling like you're starting from scratch every single meeting.

SPEAKER_02 21:39

So yeah, it's also helpful, like as a corner, especially with me like being solo right now, but even when we were planning, like, you know, everyone has life that just continues on throughout the whole year. And like we have a lot of moms on leadership with kids that are a little older, so they're in school with sports and programs and all this stuff, but then you know there's Obviously, we're all moms and continuing to have babies and things like that. And so having like at least an outline of our year is like really easy. Cause like also, you know, I have great family that can watch my kids if they're sick, but um, you know, not that's not the case for everybody. And so they're like, oh, um, my kid's sick, I can't come to my our meeting, but like we all know what's going on. Or I could literally just be like, here's what's happening, because you know, like I had a baby two years ago, and um there was no bumps. There was no bumps because it was all planned easily. And we also, again, like have such a great leadership team that's connected that it's like no one bats an eye. If you're like, can someone take this and like do it? Or like, can someone, you know, that delegation piece. Yeah. Um, and that's again, that's born out of like relationship more than anything. But the logistical operational things are helpful. Yeah, you know, to play.

SPEAKER_03 22:57

And when you have a plan like that, like you said, if you do an activity or there's um, you know, parts of the meeting that you can delegate to somebody else, I think that's also a great way to involve some of the moms that are not on leadership sometimes. We all know there's that mom that is like over-the-top energy, and you're like, hey, I've got this game, it's all right here. Would you lead this game? And what what she might not realize is that she's actually being shown that she can be a leader if she didn't think she could be, and you're you're not having to do it alone. And I think there are lots of groups that don't have full leadership teams, they only have one or two people, but to have a plan with your leadership team and then be able to say, This person would be great, let's ask them to do this, or this person would be great, let's ask them to do this, is a great way to kick it off. Jana, what would you say is your favorite part about having this intentional time for planning?

SPEAKER_01 24:13

Uh, I think my favorite part is uh kind of like I mentioned already, having everyone in the room and just gathering around. And I love digging into the theme. That's kind of when we start digging into the new theme for the year. And so it just feels exciting. It feels like, oh, like we've had summer, we've kind of had a little break and a time to take a deep breath. But it's like coming back in and feeling like we're all a part of this thing together and getting excited about um the theme and digging into the theme summary and reading it and watching the video and just getting everyone excited and pumped up for that new theme year. It just feels like you're kind of rallied around something that's like exciting and gets people kind of pumped up for the new year. So that's what I love. And you know, just helping moms feel like they're a part of this exciting thing that's coming and that we're launching and that everyone then gets to be a part of.

SPEAKER_03 25:14

It's like you're all on a journey together for the year.

SPEAKER_01 25:18

Yeah, and like good company is gonna be so fun.

SPEAKER_03 25:21

Uh it is gonna be fun. It is Emily, how about you? What's what would you say is one of the biggest benefits of doing this?

SPEAKER_02 25:30

Yeah, I mean, similar to what Janice said, but like spending time together and like bringing all like, you know, again, we have that commonality of being moms, but we're all in different stages. We all have different backgrounds. Like, you know, we have quite a few working moms in our group, including myself, but um, and but we have so many moms with different talents and skills and and um, you know, backgrounds on leadership and off-leadership. Um, and even like the ones that aren't on leadership, I don't know all of them, but their table leader from last year or their friend does. And so we can even like be like, hey, this mom does this. We could like pull her in for something or whatever. Um, but just like hearing kind of what people are passionate about and like what skills they have to offer and talents they have to offer and how that, you know, we can use that to like benefit our group and and have fun um and collaborate. And so yeah, being together and and thinking through all of that. Um and again, yeah, I feel like everyone kind of comes into our um planning time refreshed and like renewed passion for mom co. Um, because we, you know, we have play dates and like mom's night outs and stuff over the summer. Um, but everyone's so busy with traveling and random, you know, so you don't see everybody all over, you know, over the summer necessarily. Um and so it's nice to kind of all come back together and um yeah, feel it's almost like kind of that first day of school, like jittery like feeling, um, thinking about like the first mom co of the year. Um, and yeah, I'm really excited for the good company theme because I think it's gonna be freeing for moms, hopefully, to not feel like they have to like perfectly curate play dates and like even perfectly curate our meetings. Um and like can just be themselves and stay true. Um I was not trained or paid to say that, by the way.

SPEAKER_03 27:33

Well, I appreciate the way you just wove that in. That was amazing.

SPEAKER_02 27:36

Um yeah, you know, like encouraging people to stay off our phones and like get in, get in with people and um, you know, support each other. And um yeah, I just feel like the theme for this year like really just goes back to the heart of Mom Co. Like in a simple way. Um, and simple is usually better. Um I'm really excited for it.

SPEAKER_03 27:59

I think it's gonna be excellent. So now some leaders will do planning in June, some do in July, some do it in August. Tell me a little bit, Emily, what is your group's like rhythm for that?

SPEAKER_02 28:14

Yeah, we um typically do it in later in the summer. So we don't typically start our Monco year until mid-September. Um we start school really early here in Colorado. So our schools start the second week of August. Um, and so trying to start Monco like within August would be really a lot. Um, and then you know, Labor Day comes and stuff. Um and so we've just kind of found like our start of our meetings to have that breathing room to get into the swing of school and things like that. Um, and so that gives us a little time to honestly just take some time off, even as like the coordinator for the summer. Um, you know, I've been doing a few like tasks, you know, in terms of like recruiting leadership still and whatnot during the summer, but I do like to take at least a a couple weeks to just like literally not talk or think about momco business-wise. Um and so we typically um we've done like the last week in July before, and that was pretty decent. Um, we still have, you know, there's some big events in our town um in those last two weeks that bud up with that. Um, so the last year and then this year, we've done like the first weekend in August on a weekend day. We've done it on a Sunday afternoon. Um and there's like there's just no perfect time. And um, but what has been helpful was letting our um like I just looked at the calendar, looked at our church's calendar, decided on that date, like in April. And so as I recruited leaders, our you know, our old leaders that are coming back, I told them that date ahead of time so that they can mark it. It is like right before school starts. Um, so most people will not be on vacation. Um, and I'm like, I know it's like four days before school starts and things are crazy, but again, we do what we can.

SPEAKER_03 30:13

Um sometimes as a mom, it's nice to escape the craziness for a couple of hours.

SPEAKER_02 30:18

Yeah, yeah. And so we'll have you know that early August, and then we'll have pretty much a month until our first meeting. And so we usually do a couple other little planning meetings, like all of the creative team will also kind of take the ideas we talked about at our retreat and hone that a little more and like look at our budget and stuff like that. And I'm involved in that, and then you know, like our welcome team might have another meeting and stuff like that within that month, and then you know, prepping and doing more marketing and outreach and things like that in that month before we launch, which is super fun.

SPEAKER_03 30:57

I love it. I love how um every mob mom co group gets the opportunity to do what is best for their community because, like you said, school starts in different times for different people, rhythms of vacation. Um, you have some areas like the Pacific Northwest, you you people are constantly outside, like they don't want to be doing anything during that summer time because it's not raining. Hallelujah, you know? And so I think it's important to know your community, to know the rhythms of that, and I think also brilliant to set the date early so that people have it on their calendar and know. So that's great. That's great. Is there anything that you guys have thought of that you really want to incorporate maybe in this upcoming planning meeting or even future planning meetings? Emily, anything you've you've got on the docket for that's new for your group?

SPEAKER_02 32:02

Yeah, um, I would love, and I still need to kind of figure out what this looks like for this upcoming one, but I would love to incorporate more prayer. Um, like we intend, you know, we do pray at the beginning of our retreat and the end for our year. Um, and we, you know, we pray during every meeting and stuff, but um I think that that kind of keeps the you know, having more intentional time to like pray together or individually or whatever that looks like. Um, because I feel like that reminds you of the heart of Mamko, which is like Jesus. And like also remembering that this is his, his group, his ministry, and like we're just you know the vessels and the people that are the tools to like reach these moments. Um, so giving us more time to listen to like what he's saying, um, and you know, and say thank you. Also, like that praise piece because he has done some awesome things in our ministry and our like if our group has continued to grow and like I'm expecting it to grow more this year, um and has brought moms like closer to Jesus. Moms have found best friends um through our group, and that is should be celebrated and thanked. Um but again, just reminding that like God is at the heart of this group and it is his and keeps us humble um and keeps us in line with that. So definitely would like to find, you know, what that look figure out what that looks like um as part of our planning and our group as a whole, just to do that more intentionally.

SPEAKER_03 33:42

I love that. I love the heart of that too. And I think um for some people, leaders included, prayer is kind of scary, you know, especially if it's not something you've grown up um around. Um, and in situations like this, if somebody were to ask you to pray out loud, that will put some people into a pure panic, I think, at times. And so I love the idea of introducing and incorporating that more and making people more comfortable with that. Um, I'll give you a side plug. One of the videos this year is Sherry about how to pray. And one of the things that I like about it is it kind of takes away some of the scariness of it.

SPEAKER_02 34:25

So very saw that actually and was like, great, I'm gonna use that somewhere.

SPEAKER_03 34:31

Right in line. It's like we knew somehow or another, Emily. I love it. Janna, how about you? Anything you're looking forward to incorporating, especially in this new role, like as a table leader, too.

SPEAKER_01 34:43

What is what are you looking forward to? Um, well, I thought what Emily said was amazing. Um, but the thing that came to mind for me is I feel like having a group that's feels successful and feels like it's growing. Um I don't want to get too comfortable in like knowing that there's moms out there that don't know Jesus or don't have community, or like I was when I first became a mom, I was like, oh, I need mom friends. Like I had friends, but I didn't have very many mom friends. And I was like, this is like a whole new world, you know? So even if they know Jesus but don't have mom friends, it's like you need mom friends, and you can come into momco and not just to be inside of our four walls of our church, but just reminding and keeping it in front of us to be looking for those moms in our community that need momco and to not forget about them or to get comfortable in just the people around my table that I'm getting to know and making it feel like you know, we can't reach out. And as a table leader too, I think sometimes I get so focused on my table and my girls that then if there's a new mom at the meeting that I haven't met, and with our group being like growing, there's some moms that I'm like, I don't know if you're new or I just haven't met you yet. But it doesn't hurt to still say, hi, I haven't met you yet, even if you're not at my table, to have that welcoming spirit and vibe amongst the whole group, not just at my table and being so focused within, but being it comfortable to say, hey, you know, I haven't met you, are you know, let's get to know each other a little bit, even if we're not at this table, to just help moms feel welcome and seen. Yeah, and seen, even if they're not necessarily at my table or, you know, even at the park, like getting out of my comfort zone to say, you know, do you have mom community? And not even like feeling weird about like you should come to my mom co group, but even just cracking the door a little bit to say, hey, you're mom, I'm a mom. Do you feel like you have mom community? And then just starting a conversation, and maybe it leads to inviting her to momco, I don't know. But not feeling comfortable enough to not just stay inside of my bubble of my moms and my friends and my church, you know?

SPEAKER_03 37:09

Yeah, I love it. That not um not getting comfortable and also not setting limitations. Oh, that we could say everybody's welcome, we'll figure out the logistics later, you know. Yes, our childcare is at capacity, great. How do we how do we expand? How do we add more? How do we how do we do something different because we've got more moms coming? And I think that is a great attitude to have and to look forward to. So excellent. Well, ladies, I just applaud you in the way that you are leading your mom co-group and moms in your community, and I thank you for giving our leaders just a little peek into what planning looks like in their in their roles. I just really appreciate uh your willingness to come and share and say we don't have it all perfect, but this is this is how we do it. So I look forward to seeing you guys at mom con in a couple of months.

SPEAKER_01 38:17

We got a big group. We got a big group. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 38:21

I love it. Well, let's definitely get a picture together when we are there. So thank you, ladies, for sharing today.

SPEAKER_00 38:28

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