My Secret Life

Late at night when other mothers are reading novels, watching TV, or playing bejeweled blitz, I edit stuff for The Power of Moms website.  I'm the content and submissions manager, which just means I'm the "screener", sometimes editor, and contact person for those submitting essays or articles to the site.  I get a real kick out of it, not just because I enjoy writing and editing, but because I love the content and mission of the website.  I love thinking about overwhelmed or discouraged moms finding our site and feeling like they belong, like they have a place to go to help them not only find more joy in being a mom, but also get some tools to be a better mom.  Not a fashionista hottie momma, or a Martha Stewart craft diva, but a better MOM! The website really is a fabulous resource for moms looking for support and validation as well as concrete ideas and motivation.

One of my favorite things about working on this website is my association with the pie-in-the-sky co-creators, April and Saren.  Those girls have more energy, ideas, ambition, and drive . . . it's crazy what they come up with and what they accomplish.  There are a lot of cool things in the works. 

A few Saturdays back, Saren was nice enough to invite me to their advisory board meeting at her parents house.  She wrote about it here. What a great group of women.  Impressive in all the right ways.  I felt like such a lucky duck to be there as a little fly on the wall.  (And if you're a parent and you've never heard of the Eyres or read any of their books, go on over to Amazon and get some of their books.  Tonight.)  

A day or two before this meeting I read this article. Creepy. And while the "child-free movement" is disturbing, it's #2 that really bothers me. Mothers that don't find joy in being mothers.  I just think that is sad and unfortunate.  Of course parenting is hard, but really, what do people expect?  It's going to be a walk in the park being responsible for the physical, social, emotional, intellectual and spiritual development of another human being?  Reading stuff like this just fuels my fire even more.  It seems to me that more than ever women need perspective and help when it comes to this mothering business.  Thankfully, the site is really growing.  I have a love/hate relationship with technology, but I'm so grateful  for the internet when I think about The Power of Moms.  

And I'm so grateful I get to mom these four little boogers everyday: