Spokeo is excited to feature a new series of guest posts from bloggers each focusing on a different way to use Spokeo. Lindsay Frank is a wife and mom of two living in Central Pennsylvania. She stays busy with soccer mom duties and her family loves to travel. You can follow her adventures on her blog, See Mom Click.
Disclaimer – This conversation is brought to you by Spokeo. All ideas and opinions are 100% mine.
I became a mom in September of 2005 when my beautiful daughter Lily was born. It was a truly amazing time, taking on the love and care of this perfect little person and watching her grow and blossom. But I’m going to be honest: it wasn’t all roses and happy faces for me. Lily, while amazing and the most gorgeous baby you’d ever want to see, was a colicky little girl. My husband and I would eat dinner in shifts so one of us could pace the floor with her. She cried. A lot. Now, 9 years later I can see how that determination will serve her well in life. But as a baby? I was struggling.
On top of not really being an expert in the screamy baby department, I also missed my friends and colleagues at work. I had left my position just before Lily was born to stay home and be a full-time mom, something I don’t regret for a second. This decision is definitely what has been best for our family and I’m so thankful I had the option to make that choice. However, going from working in a professional office every day to changing diapers with no real adult interaction every day is a shock to the system. And it’s lonely. Like, super lonely. I was missing having friends and a lot of my ‘old’ work friends were no longer in the same place in life I was. I needed to find some new moms to connect with. And fast!
As the days went by, me home with Lily during a very cold winter, I started to wonder where some of my friends were that might be in my shoes right now. Does my old college roommate have kids yet? Are some of my high school friends moms? Do any of them live near me?
Spokeo is a website that allows you to search for and reconnect with people you’ve lost touch with, and when you’re a new mom looking for some solidarity from friends who can relate to your current season in life this site can be a lifesaver.
Spokeo is really easy to use. You only have to enter a name to get started on your search. The information you get back with a free search is limited, maybe a street with no house number or something like that. For a small fee you can get the detailed information you want to get in touch with your old friends. Depending on your needs, you can sign up for a subscription that runs as little as a couple of dollars a month, or you might choose to just run a single report that can be as little as $1.95. Less than a couple of bucks to reconnect with a friend is worth every penny to me. Spokeo also provides pictures from social networks so you can match a picture to your memory and make sure you’ve got the right person before you reach out to get in touch.
I did make some new mommy friends and got in touch with some of my old friends too. Turns out tons of my friends from high school and college had babies close in age to my Lily! And what a blessing when you’re a mom to have friends who are dealing with the same challenges and joys you are.