Swigert parents Jim and Kelly Roberts have been waiting for years to be invited in to one of the popular Swigert groups. “We would see all the popular cliques hanging around talking at drop off and pick up and would wonder what it would take for us to get included,” said Kelly. “The girls were all so pretty and in shape, and just, you know, cool.” On several occasions Kelly said she had tried to interact with those in the group. “I would hear one of them say something that I could relate to and just try to throw myself in to the conversation,” said Kelly. “But, I was usually blown off pretty quickly, and would feel pretty dejected about the whole thing.” Although Kelly said she hoped she could one day be invited in to the cool group, she wasn’t holding her breath. “I felt like we must have missed our chance,” said Kelly. “At this point, I figured we were considered ‘not cool enough’ and we would just have to find other people outside of those circles to hang out with. But man, we really wanted to be with those in crowds.”
Jim said he would occasionally talk with the dads in the in the ‘cool groups’ but it was really the moms who drove the whole thing. “I never felt left out or anything,” said Jim. “But, guys aren’t typically the ones responsible for having the get togethers. We could talk sports or kids programs and everything always seemed fine. But, we never got any sort of invites to the cool parties or happy hours, which was fine with me.” Kelly, however, longed to be invited in to one of the cool groups to learn about what she should be eating, wearing, watching, and talking about. “They just seem to really have their shit together,” said Kelly. “If I could just get in to one of those groups, maybe I could get my shit together, too. Was I not pretty enough? Do we not drive the right kind of car? Maybe it is something with our kids. I really didn’t know.” Two weeks ago, Kelly was able to realize her dream. “We got invited to a Friday happy hour at one of their houses!” exclaimed Kelly. “It was so great. Sure, I was nervous about what I should wear, what I should bring, will Jim embarrass me so we are never again invited…just a lot of stuff going through my head. I didn’t want this to be a one and done situation. I think our kids hit it off, which is a good thing. I am really hoping this springboards us in to date night conversation and maybe some group vacation consideration. I did make sure to take pictures and post on social media so people would know that we are moving on up. This is just a really exciting time for all of us.” It’s too early to tell if the Roberts will be permanently accepted in to the cool kids table, but for now, Kelly is just thrilled about the opportunity.