What a Great Night!

I just want to say how much I enjoyed talking to people last night. Thank you to all the Moms for your helpful feedback. It was neat to connect with you and figure out how we might be able to make this blog community work.

Trina, if you're reading this, you won the gift bag from Tiber River (here's there blog). Why don't you come out to the studio sometime soon, see your beautiful photos and pick up your prize?!

It was surprising to me to hear that I could be thought of as "amazing" for doing all that I do and writing here. We often focus on what we're struggling with as moms juggling so many things, that we forget what we are accomplishing and that we can only expect so much of ourselves, and to just accept where we're at.


That first year of baby's life is so all-consuming, I think we forget the magnitude of what it takes to mother a newborn: the sleep loss, the endless giving of ourselves, the incredible chaos of adhering to someone else's "schedule" on a continual basis, the lack of self-care and personal time and even just the ability to be alone with your thoughts that are apt to occur, the hormones and post-partum depression that are often not even taken into consideration when we're passing judgment on ourselves, the isolation that can happen...it all takes its toll on a woman. We've got to recognize this and be gracious to ourselves. And it's not only the first year. I've heard women say it took three years to really come back to themselves...and when you continue the cycle by having your next child before that, it can be six or more years before that "normalcy" returns. In the meantime, it's important to accept the "new normal" and work within our limitations.

I look forward to your feedback on how to make this a place of support, community, and inspiration. Please feel free to comment. If you don't blog yourself or have a gmail account, just click on "Name/URL" and type your name in the box (don't worry about the optional one). Write your comment and hit "Publish your comment". (You may be asked to type in something you see in a box just to verify you're a real person and not a computer program). Hope this helps.

Looking forward to hearing from you and making this a place you want to come to. Thanks again for coming. It was wonderful.