A similar change occurred in the way I viewed the actual content of my social time. The activity began to matter almost as much as the company. Would it be fun? Exhilarating? Life-affirming? A chance to learn something new? Was it worth the travel time/exhaustion/inevitable parental guilt? When presented with an invitation, I began doing subconscious calculations in my head: If the fun + fascination-level + cultural-enrichment-level score isn't equal to or above the babysitter + dinner/drinks/cab bill + hangover score, I’m out. For instance, mid-week dinners with random work acquaintances who I'm sorta keen on but also sorta not? Sorry. Seeing a great gig with my husband? Yep. Good friend's book launch? Yep. Press ticket to a charity gala? Nope. Galas generally? Nope. Family barbeque at my neighbourhood tennis club? Oh yeah. Getting twin ear-piercings in the basement of Topshop by a guy with a face tattoo then going for mescal margaritas and tacos with an old girlfriend whose mother just died of cancer (which is what happened earlier this summer): HELL YES. All of which is to say I’m still not exactly a networker, but when I do go out at least I’ve got some party game. Amazing, isn’t it, the stuff you can learn from having kids?