This is about mothers, the Moms Offering Moms Support (MOMS) Club of Battle Ground, the women who care for one another and Battle Ground. Motherhood may, as Oprah Winfrey infamously said, be the toughest job in the world. Women can certainly disappear into it. Raising children can shrink the mother's world, unbearably so. Her world may become the home and the area immediately outside it, where the only adult voice is her own. The primary recurring characters are her children, and sometimes her spouse, whose life often continues outside.

I'm not a mother, so I'm only speaking from observation when I say that inversely motherhood seems to have equal potential to widen a world, even crack it open. A small network of local mothers sharing (at first) nothing except the same important job, allowed a gust of fresh air into the lives of each of the moms you're about to meet. In came other women who felt the same joys, struggled with and solved the same problems. In a big world that sometimes has little time for a lonely mother, and too easily forgets the needs of the woman apart from her motherhood, the women of BG MOMS Club can't forget that woman. They want to find her. Many of the club's women have been her.

 

"Before MOMS Club, I was like, desperately making conversation with baristas. But I met a woman at my husband's staff party who knew that I was new to the area and said, 'Do you want to be friends?' That changed everything for me. MOMS Club at first was a source of support while navigating postpartum depression and new motherhood, and is now my social network and connection to the community." Ali is the club treasurer and Helping Hands coordinator, a program supplying moms with extra support during difficult times. She has lived in Battle Ground for seven years, as long as she's been with MOMS. She is the former Sustainability Manager at the University of Puget Sound, and this year obtained a silver certification as a backyard habitat through the Columbia Land Trust.

"When I moved to Battle Ground, I didn’t have any local friends. I was home alone most of the day with my baby. I felt lonely and isolated. I actually Googled 'how to make friends in Battle Ground'. MOMS Club allows me to be myself, and I’m more than 'just mom.'" Cheryl is the BG MOMS Club president. She moved to Battle Ground in 2015, and has been involved in the MOMS Club for seven years. She has served as president for six years, a remarkable duration. "I enjoy helping moms in our community connect, and doing what I can for our club to continue."' Her children are now 20, 18, and 9 years old.

As Cheryl discloses the Google search that brought her to MOMS Club, Lexie laughs. "I did that too. When my oldest was a baby, I had no mom friends and was really struggling. But since joining MOMS Club, I’ve felt like I have more people in the trenches with me, as we’ve all been through similar things." Lexie is the club secretary, and the former membership vice president. She has lived in Battle Ground for seven years, and been with MOMS for five. She enjoys learning about history, and is crafting her own historical fashion.

 

When someone does even the bare minimum to meet her own needs (eating, sleeping, taking comfort in friends), she is infinitely more capable of donating her time and energy to other causes. A mother has more to offer her community than the children she raises; there are abilities and interests inside the woman that can benefit more than her own family. Interest and involvement in her own external life and the lives of those around her reflects to her child something incredibly precious and fundamental about our duty to our world and other people.

            To comply with MOMS Club International requirements, all chapters must complete one community service project per year. The women of BG MOMS aim to exceed that. Chiefly, they adopted Florence Robinson Park South in 2022, where with the help of their children they regularly maintain the park. This year they transformed some of the park's yellowed, balding grass into rich mulch, ready for further landscaping. They installed a Little Free Library there, which the club usually stocks with donated books for children. They've made impactful donations to the Battle Ground High School food bank, and a gift to a local senior living center consisting of art and craft supplies, and personal items like handsoap and hairbrushes. Using their combined power for service is central to the ethic of BG MOMS Club.

     Like all great friendships, what began more or less randomly, with a telephone call or Google search, has become a real tribe. The BG MOMS rent the Kiwanis Park building on Wednesdays, where they host activities and meetings. Markus and I met with them on a wet morning in March. Six women faced us at the round table. Past their shoulders, I could see a single desk in the middle of the floor, a window, a large stone fireplace. Above the fireplace was a motto painted in white onto wooden beams: Kiwanis, on the left; We Build, on the right. In front of the fireplace a young child, a boy, played by himself. When he up-ended a large plastic bin of toys, everyone laughed. No one minded but his mother, who sighed and threw her head back, and then laughed as well. We talked about the BG MOMS Book Club, which three of the women take part in. Originally, they explained, they had tried to read books as a group, but tastes were too different and now they meet to discuss anything they read. Smiling, giggling, each confessed what she liked to read. They teased in a familiar way. Being mothers had brought them together, but what clearly kept them that way, even though several had admitted to being a bit shy or introverted, was that they seemed at ease all together, aware of each other, almost protective. An understanding ran between them. Lyndsay Tiger, the current membership vice president whose son I had watched play in front of the fireplace, rose and reported that she was off to find cleats for her son. Amanda Hanson, one of the women chatting with us, said immediately, "What kind do you need, soccer or baseball? I may have some." That they were there to help each other never seemed far from mind.

 

"When my first child was born, we were relative newcomers to Battle Ground. We do not have any family in the area and when I decided to stay home with my baby, I quickly realized that I needed additional support." Amanda is a retired BG MOMS Club founding board member. She coordinates the newsletter, and the Sunshine program, which recognizes moms with gestures like birthday cards and well-wishes. She moved to Battle Ground ten years ago from British Columbia, and has been with the club for seven years. She advises other moms to maintain their sense of humor.

 

"MOMS Club has helped me not feel so alone and has made me feel included. I feel like I have my village with them." Jeaneth and her family moved to Battle Ground in May 2024, and she joined MOMS Club in September 2024. She is bilingual, was born in Guatemala, and raised in California.

"Becoming a mom is one of the most profound gifts I have ever received, filled with incredible joys alongside some of the toughest challenges I've faced. After…I relocated to Battle Ground, and in that transition, I felt a deep sense of loss. I grappled with the absence of my life's purpose…the entire support system that had once surrounded me. I went from an active-duty service member—someone who contributed to a greater mission and received respect within my community—to the role of a stay-at-home mom, overwhelmed by the sudden shift in my identity. This transformation seemed to occur overnight, leaving me disoriented and longing for the connection and fulfillment I previously knew. It wasn't until I discovered the MOMs Club that I truly felt a sense of belonging—my Tribe—in Battle Ground…not only reigniting my passion for motherhood but also helping me rediscover who I am outside of being a mom. The balance I now enjoy is remarkable; I savor nights out with fellow moms, where we laugh, share stories, and celebrate our individuality, as well as the Park Playdates where I can watch our children forge friendships and create timeless memories together. Through these experiences, I have found joy and camaraderie, allowing me to thrive in both roles as a mom and as a woman."

The BG MOMS Club board comprises five members: president, administration vice president, membership vice president, treasurer, and secretary. Annual membership dues are $35/year, but can be waived according to need. They are always welcoming new members. For more information about joining, events, and more, visit https://momsclub.org/ or email momsclubofbatttleground@gmail.com.