There’s a particular kind of lonely that doesn’t get talked about enough. It’s not the dramatic, cry-on-the-kitchen-floor kind (though, honestly, some days it is). It’s the quieter version — the one where you’re surrounded by life and love and a whole tiny human who needs you constantly, but you still feel completely unseen.

That’s where Shelby was.

Finding Her People in a New Place

Shelby discovered NAFN through the Peanut app at a point when, as she put it, she was “slowly drowning in parenthood with no other friends being in the parent phase of life.” She took a chance and showed up to our very first Mama Meet Up — and something shifted.

“It was intimidating,” she said, “but it felt like the first time I was truly being seen as a mom.”

That’s the thing about walking into a room full of women who actually get it. You don’t have to explain why you’re tired. You don’t have to perform. You just get to be.

A Village She Didn’t Know She Needed

For Shelby, NAFN became more than just a social outlet. It gave her daughter the experience of siblings and cousins in a city where extended family simply wasn’t close. It gave every member of her family their own people, their own threads in a bigger village.

Her favorite memories? Not the big planned events, but the low-stakes, high-vibe moments. The random backyard hangs. The impromptu playdates where the house is a mess but everyone’s heart leaves full.

What She Wants You to Know

Shelby’s advice to a mom on the fence? “Just do the damn thing. If you don’t like it you can leave and never come back, but at least you tried. If not for you, for your child. Although I hope you try for yourself first.”

And her most meaningful takeaway from years of meet ups? Real moms sharing real struggles: the mental, emotional, and physical ones without a filter. In a world where social media paints a picture of perfection, there’s something profoundly comforting about sitting across from a mom who’s right there in it with you.

“There’s no such thing as perfect,” Shelby says. “Failure in parenting will happen. In those moments, it’s not about being perfect, it’s about the repair that comes after.”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

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You don’t have to have it all figured out to show up. Shelby didn’t — and look at the village she found. Come find yours at our next Mama Meet Up.