BUNCO!!!!

This past Friday night, I attended the monthly Bunco event organized by members of the Naperville Moms Network (napervillemomsnetwork.com / @NapervilleMoms).  When I arrived at our host home for the evening, I was greeted with a warm fire in the fireplace, candles and wonderful smells everywhere, hugs from familiar faces, and a lovely table of sweet and savory munchies.  In addition, I met a new mom who read one of my posts on the network website to another "newbie" encouraging her to come to a Bunco night and decided to come out!  It was a small group this month - there were just six of us - but that certainly didn't diminish the fun!

Let me explain to you what the game of Bunco is all about (at least how we play it - there are TONS of different ways!).  Bunco is a dice game played in rounds.  There are three dice used and you start with ones.  Each person will roll all three dice until none of them show a one, keeping track of how many they accumulate.  When you have a roll that show no ones, the points and the dice move to the next person.  The goal is to get to 21.  Whoever roles the twenty-first 1 gets the pot ($.25 per person, per round).  You then roll for twos, threes, and so forth.  A "bunco" is when you roll three of a kind of the same number that you are on.  A "mini-bunco" is when you roll three of a kind of a different number than you are on,  and is worth 5 points.  If you go over 21 points, it's considered a bust, everyone throws another quarter in the pot and you move on to the next number.  Sound confusing?  I swear it makes more sense when you are actually doing it, and everyone is very helpful.  Most members that come to Bunco night for the first time have no clue how to play and do just fine.  Our new mom this week (who had never played) won a triple pot!!!

Honestly, "Bunco" is really a code word for "Girls Night".  This is my third bunco night with the lovely moms and out of the approximately 12 hours we have spent together in those three outings, maybe an hour and a half of Bunco was actually played (I'm probably being generous in my estimation too)!  The rest of the time is spent chatting, bonding, laughing, eating, drinking, and generally enjoying ourselves in a stress free, child free and (usually) husband free environment.  Our group is diverse - married and divorced, moms of children who are toddlers, tweens, teens, and some that are fully grown and have children of their own.  Some don't live "in" Naperville proper, but in the neighboring cities.  Some are working moms, either in the corporate world or in their own businesses, and yet others stay at home with their children.  We are bound together by the sisterhood of our network.  We appreciate who we are as individuals, support each others personal and professional endeavors, listen to the ideas and stories that are shared, and embrace our similarities and differences.  We share a love for the community we live and work in, and are invested in making it a great place for ourselves, our families and everyone around us.  New members are welcomed with open arms and encouraged to come to events and have fun!   Being a relatively new mom to the network myself, I know how nerve-racking it can be to show up some place where you don't know anyone and you aren't sure what the "vibe" is going to be.  I went through this myself a few months ago when I took the plunge and attended a Bunco night.  I walked in that night as a stranger, but walked out with new friends that I talk to almost daily on Facebook or Twitter, whom I encourage and support and receive the same in return.  It has been an eye-opening experience for me.  Sometimes, women can be competitive instead of collaborative, but I have not seen this in our network.  We genuinely like and care about each other!

So we laughed and joked and ate and drank and told stories of our children and families and life experiences and got to know a new mom.  We enjoyed the beautiful home that was generously shared with us by one of our members.  We raised money for another member who is fighting breast cancer (everyone who participates in Bunco night is asked to contribute $5 each).  And, yes, there was actually Bunco that was played.  As we all left that evening discussing next months event, I couldn't help but smile at another successful evening with a great group of women.  If you're missing something like this in your life - go out and see if it's available in your community.  Maybe Bunco isn't your thing - try a book club or cooking classes or any kind of club/organization around a hobby that you really like.  If you can't find anything that fits you - organize it yourself!  I bet you'll find that you aren't the only one who was searching for some way to feel connected to their community.  Life is too short to stand on the sidelines.  Be brave - you might be surprised at how it changes your life!

L to R:  Dana, Jennifer, Stephanie, Jeannie and CJ
Photo Credit:  Just Jen