First Post: Enter, Mama Blogger

First post: I caught the mom blog bug. I've been following a handful of blogs by creative, eloquent mothers out there. These moms aren't afraid to laugh at themselves - and quite publicly. They go on rants about significant others and overwhelming amounts of stuffed animals their kid never even plays with. They even talk about how teaching their kid about Jesus Christ is the right thing to do. And (gasp) they let anyone who has access to the internet comment on their parenting decisions. They Tweet, Facebook, and Instagram all of this and cute pictures of their kids. Opening up to strangers  about something as important and intimate as your FAMILY is admirable - even if it's on a blog. But  let's face it, opening up to acquaintances and friends is what's really scary here.  Say,  someone you see each day at the water cooler clicks on the link you post on your Facebook Page.  Suddenly he or she knows more about you than how much water you drink when you're supposed to be in your cubicle and they pass by your desk and say something like,

"WHAT - you imagine burning all your son's stuffed animals in your fireplace so your house doesn't look like a zoo each night?! You're the worst mother ever!"

Not like I think that or anything. We don't even have a fireplace. Thanks to these blogger moms, and my own mom for reminding me that motherhood doesn't mean having an image to uphold.  (As I write this, I do have an image of my mother - one of her chasing a diaper-less three year old with poop on his b-hind across the main plaza in our local mall. I was at the ever-humiliated age of 14 at this time, so that experience, let alone having to go to the mall with my mom, has scarred me for life....or, perhaps, prepared me for the road ahead?) Back to what being a mom means (to me)....Being a mom means we live for our children. And in doing this, we lose parts of ourselves - but we also find ourselves through our vocation as moms. (This has been my experience so far, but I've only been a mom for a year.) As we redefine ourselves in this new role, what better way to do it than to write it all down? Why not speak of this time of rapid change, renewal and displacement? Maybe this is why there's so many Mom Blogs out there: women are writing about the process of raising their kid, but also how raising their kid is, in turn, raising them. Yeah, I think that's the main idea I'll be going with here on this blog...maybe not so heavily-laden with philosophies. I'm glad I got it all out of my system. And who knows, this may just turn out to be a house for the trillions of cute photos I took in the last year. But I think I have too much to say to let that happen :)