I read on a blog where someone wrote “I wish I had a kid so that I could sit on my butt watching cartoons & write a blog.” No lies. I started thinking that if she and other people think that moms who blog sit around with their computers then they really don’t understand. It really didn’t bother me that she said, it just caught me off guard, and made me start thinking.
You know, someday, this woman may get married & they might have a baby. She might give up everything she knows and understands to be a mom (working or SAHM.) It will flip her entire world upside down. When her life revolved around shiny cars, fun purses, cute shoes, date nights, & sleeping in, she will quickly discover that her life is about diapers, feedings, diapers, sleep deprivation, diapers, doctors appointments, diapers, spit up, diapers, isolation and did I mention diapers?!
Oh yes, her life will be about beautiful moments too. Moments of kisses, first waves, first solid foods, first steps, hugs, first words, smiles, laughter, precious moments of reading books, cuddling, laughter, backyard fun, birthday parties, and figuring out how to enjoy a date night even though you miss your kid so much hurts while he is at home with grandma. Yes, there are beautiful and amazing moments too.
But she might find that she’s the only one of her friends parenting. Or her friends who are parenting don’t live in the same town. So she finds herself a little isolated, a lot of lonely, and she wishes that she could have another mother she can talk to about the cruddy stuff & the awesome stuff. So one day she opens up her computer and finds a blog that a friend in real life actually writes. On that blog she sees a button flashing that links her to over 1000 mommy blogs.
In one click her entire world opens up. So she decides that she can do this too. She opens a blogger account because it’s free & easy. She writes her first post. She signs up at networking sites with other women bloggers. She gets her first comment. She starts visiting blogs every day. She finds herself reading stories about days just like the one she had yesterday. She’s laughing, she’s crying, she’s laughing & crying at the exact same time while reading posts.
Now, she wakes up in the morning thinking about what her next post will be about. She wonders if she has any new comments. She reads that comment, that comment leads to an email, an email leads to many emails, which lead to friendships. She’s also smiling a little bit more during the day, she finds that she has something that is 100% her own and it’s wonderful. She doesn’t have to share it. She finds that it’s a flexible where she can write at 8:00 am or midnight (and she even writes about those diapers.)
Now she’s not so lonely. She’s not so isolated. She has other mothers to tell about her day, to listen to, and gets to know herself as “MOM.”
We “mom bloggers,” say it proudly, are a pretty awesome group of women. We share stories, we listen to stories, we learn about our differences, our similarities, we open doors to new opportunities for each other & ourselves.
Yes. That woman just didn’t understand. Someday, she may be a mom blogger. And someday we will be ready to hear her story of new mommyhood.
I'm not a mom, but I can't believe she would think that!
Great post! And you were so NICE about it. It's amazing what people assume about others lives.
Well said friend.
Great post and so true. I never said anything cocmpletly ignorant before having kids, but I had no idea what I was in for – the good and the bad. You said it perfectly!
Don’t copy the behavior and cutsoms of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 This Video shows that You did exactly That!
I LOVE this post! Seriously, it's so great, I stumbled it for you!!
Wow. That was a really rude comment for that person to make. She obviously doesn't realize that children take naps and blogging is a way for moms to socialize while staying in the house for nap time.
Great post! 🙂
I wish I could sit on my butt and blog all day…there are a few little ladies who don't stand for that! It is amazing what you think you know when all you have to worry about is your self! I am not sure what I thought before babies, but I know now it is a lot of work and every day is different.
I learned long ago not to say stuff like that. It nearly always comes back to bite you! I finally have a whole day that I could literally sit on my butt and blog. Strangely, I don't feel like it!
Maybe you guys won't get more attention now that she's in school.
Nicely articulated come back!
Well said Kate! I have never worked so hard, been so lonely, had so much fun, and been as blessed than as a mother. I don't have a job, I have a 24/7 vocation!
Beautiful post! You're always so insightful. I don't have kids yet, but you make it sound exciting (but scary haha)
Wow, please tell me where these moms are who sit on their butts all day and blog!! I love this post, you mirrored my blog experience perfectly…just about 15 years later in life! This is a wonderful world to discover…mom or not…and it's NOT about butt-sitting.
Me and this article, sitting in a tree, L—A-R-NEI-N-G!
Wow… what mom sits on her bumm all day? Well, nicely put… your a better woman than I!
I love it when you get on your high horse 🙂
(and I mean that in SUCH a good way!)
And yeah… I'd like to sit on my butt all day and blog too – but instead I have to wait for quiet/nap time or steal minutes here and there to throw out a life line… oh the glamor!
I like mom bloggers 🙂 And I'm not even close to a mom! Some of my friends are getting there, but we're taking the slower route, basically.
But (probably because I'm a teacher) I think parenting is one of the most interesting aspects of us being human 🙂 Plus, duh, all your kids are adorable.
Some people are just on the immature side of "adult"…
Very well said. You that is.. not her.
it's funny how women judge each other for the sake of doing so. i don't necessarily consider myself a "mom blogger" since my blog is a little, um, risque and even though i talk about ava my main focus is writing and humor but i appreciate that there are people giving us all sorts of perspectives in the blogging world.
it's easy to judge from behind a computer screen.
great post kate!!
Mom Blogger, Mommy Blogger, Blogger…whatever it's called, it's here – and people figure out how to do it. And everything you said about life changing – so true.
What a wonderful post! And all so true. 🙂
Well said, Kate! Someday, she will be one of us. Muahahaha. 😉
I just stumbled across your blog. I'm going to be a first-time SAHM in less than three months. I really liked this post! 🙂
Great Post! I for one would go crazy if I couldn't find some adult convo in my PC. I don't care if I just reading blogs or chatting on FB. Being a Mom did change everything but I wouldn't give it up for anything.
Well written post. I would be as detached as Betty Draper and throwing myself at the UPS guy if I didn't have this social interaction in my day. I'm typing this with my laptop on the counter waiting to turn the pancakes.
Other than sleep times, cartoon watching is a highlight of my day since it means that, according to my daughter, I'm NOT allowed to move. No cooking, cleaning, creating, just sitting around chilling with my daughter while she laughs at the TV and gives out hugs and kisses like I've been gone for weeks even though she sees me all day every day. We are still, and it is wonderful. 🙂
Blogging gets squeezed in around everything else. Twitter, though, stays open on my laptop on the bar so I'm always available for chat! I need SENTENCES in my life! 😉