Are Mommy Bloggers Obsessed?
Last week I read a great post about whether mommy bloggers are losing their identity in their kids. I wasn’t sure if I should raise my hand or lower it. Because sometimes I do feel I’ve lost my voice. I’m a published author; what am I doing blogging about my kids?
For a long time, I chafed against being an at home mom. I identified myself as others did, “This is my friend Jennifer, she’s an author…” So if I wasn’t writing, who was I? I pushed our stroller up and down our street, searching for answers (and friends).
I was happy at home, where I felt I needed to be. As I held our boys in my lap, reading a book while our baby snoozed, I told myself I didn’t care. But the truth is it’s tough to lose your identity as you know it.
And your writing reflects where you are in life. When you’re at home with small children, there ain’t much else going on in your world. Sure, you know about the oil spill, but right now, what concerns you most is how to get this baby to stop crying because somewhere inside you, something is surging, sucking your air in with it, and the power of it scares you.
But once I stopped letting the outside world define me, I was able to find who I was. What I wanted. And what I love about blogging is that you have creative control.
While the media may be pigeonholing us, it’s also creating opportunities that weren’t there before. I got to shoot a video for Dr. Phil, appear in a commercial that aired during American Idol and talk to Good Morning America anchor Juju Chang, exciting stuff for a mom who spends her days with spit up on her.
But for me that’s not where the magic happens. It’s here, at home. It happens both suddenly and unexpectedly. You’re in your kitchen, pouring yourself a cup of coffee, when your 5-year-old walks in. Together you sit, scooping out grapefruit, talking about the oil spill. And you realize not only are you back, but you’re just getting started.
I think that’s what amazes me most about women: that we can put our lives on hold, and then somehow find ourselves in the chaos.
How did you rediscover who you are?
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This was very well said. Thanks for articulating what so many of us go through on a daily basis. Makes me feel a little less crazy. Cheers!
Excellent point. We can be both lost and found at the same time.
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Really well said…i started blogging to just keep a record of my daughter growing up but my blog, well, has turned into other things. And these “other” things have helped me not only grow up a bit, but learn more about the woman i’m turning out to be.
Thank you for sharing….
I’m having more fun re-inventing myself (post-babies and toddlers) than I ever would have thought possible by blogging, writing and playing in a garage band. Oddly enough, all these things came about through connections I made through my children. Oh, and I wouldn’t trade my “lost years” at home with babies and toddlers for anything.
So very true. Well said. Hope to see you tomorrow night!
Can I just say that I’m so happy to have met you (on the bus to the winery in SF!!!). While sometimes I think about how silly it is to be sharing yummy goodies on my blog and what the heck for, I’m doing it because that is who I am, someone who loves to bake and share and who also loves talking about my boys at the same time!
I often feel like who the heck cares what I have to share and love that whatever you put on here whether long or quick and to the point is always so thoughtful and well said. Thanks for being you. I need to go check out your book.
found me in my blog……
Wow, I need to see the videos of you on tv….have links. Your article was well thoughtout and written. Kudos!
Wait, I see links on the side.
Loved the blog, and so true, it is amazing that we Mothers don’t end up with more than one personality, sometimes I really wonder who I Karen, am……..
I really liked this post. Sometimes I feel like I have baby brain but, I’m also finding things out about myself I never knew before. Thanks for posting.
Stopping by from MomLoop!
Very nicely said…. So happy I found you on the Mom Loop! You have a new follower!!
Beautiful Children!!
Great post! It certainly is a work in progress over here! =)
Stopping by from Mom Loop….your newest follower. Stop by when you get a chance:
http://activitymom.blogspot.com
I think that’s a feeling a lot of women have at some point!
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