For many moms, walking into Target is akin to entering a state of nirvana. This special relationship has spawned fan Instagram accounts and maternity photo shoots. One mother even gave birth in a Target (albeit unintentionally).
So it’s no surprise that the big-box store is like a playground for making mom friends. At least that’s how Nikki Pennington sees it.
On Sep. 26, the mom and blogger posted a missed connection ad on Facebook addressed “To The Mom In Target.”
“You were at Target last night about 7pm in the crayon aisle. I was wearing my mom couture complete with dry shampoo hair, no makeup, yesterday’s T-shirt and yoga pants,” Pennington wrote.
“You were also wearing yoga pants with flip flops and a messy bun. The venti Starbucks in your hand was a dead giveaway that even though you were wearing yoga pants you had in fact not come from the gym,” she added, noting that she was doing the exact same thing.
Pennington wrote that the contents of her fellow shopper’s cart confirmed her suspicions that they were “meant to be best mom friends”: diapers, soda, wine and chocolate. Though they bumped carts, that seems to have been the extent of their interaction.
So Pennington used her missed connection ad to let the fellow mom know that she would be back at Target again next week “because let’s be honest, I live there.” She concluded, “Maybe I’ll see you again, same time, same aisle and this time we can wander around aimlessly in Target together for our moms night out.”
The Facebook post received nearly 8,000 likes and has been shared more than 2,400 times. Pennington ― who has three sons, ages 7, 5 and 3 ― told HuffPost she wrote the post after coming home from Target that night and telling her husband about her potential mom friend.
“He jokingly said I should put an ad out to find my future best mom friend,” she said. “I thought it was a great idea and thought what better way than on social media.”
Pennington said the response on Facebook has been “great” and she has especially enjoyed reading the comments ― “So many stories of moms who actually have lasting friendships and met in the aisles of Target!”
Ultimately, she wants her post to inspire other women like herself. Said Pennington, “I hope it will encourage other moms to get out there and say hi to each other and not miss out on a potential friend like I did.”
