MamaBlogga

(Happy birthday, Mom!)

This month’s group writing project was based around the theme of “Motherhood to me.” We had eight beautiful entries that cover a wide range of motherhood (and future motherhood) experiences:

• Lessons from my Children by Elisa Allan
• My Little 3 Year Old by An Ordinary Mom
• Motherhood to me by Jordan (MamaBlogga)
• Sing it, Perry by Lindsey
• Motherhood and Me by Danyelle Ferguson
• Motherhood to Me by Shelly Brown
• Motherhood to Me by Brooke Anderson — that’s my sister!
• Dear Kids by Erin — that’s also my sister!

All of these great entries explore motherhood in brilliant ways. I’ve found them all inspiring, and I hope you’ll read and comment on them too! (I’m a little behind in commenting, but I’m hoping to get to it today.)

Now, feel free (but, of course, not compelled) to spread the link love by copying the above list (instructions) and posting it to your own blog.

The Winna!
Chosen at random, the winner of our prize, a $30 Amazon.com gift certificate, is <drum roll>…

Motherhood to Me by Shelly Brown

Congratulations, Shelly, and thanks to everyone who participated!

This month, we’re doing a group writing project on “Motherhood to me.” It’s almost like a status update, a self-check, a note to yourself about where you are in our life as a mom right now.

So far, we’ve got three great entries:

• Lessons from my Children by Elisa Allan
• My Little 3 Year Old by An Ordinary Mom
• Motherhood to me by Jordan (MamaBlogga)

Read, comment—and join in!

For the Motherhood to me Group Writing Project—join in!

Motherhood to me is never being enough.

I can’t even begin to express how not enough I am. I’m not patient enough. I’m not attentive enough. I don’t have enough time to devote to each child. I don’t respond to each and every demand quickly enough. I don’t discipline enough. I don’t play enough.

I’m not perfect enough.

I hate, hate to say this. Because 1.) it sounds terrible. 2.) People read it and think and say, “If staying at home is hard for you, then you should quit.” (Leaving aside this defeatist, dismissive attitude none of us would tolerate from our own children.)

But I think that having children is the greatest contribution we can make to the world, creating a good person to carry on our legacy, not to mention the indescribable love and flashes of joy they bring to our lives, the moments that make two days of drudgery seem to disappear.

Motherhood to me is soul-wrenching (at times). It consumes my life, my energy, my strength. But it’s who I am. I am trading in my life, having my selfishness chiseled away piece by piece, and I hope that it will help me to become more. More patient. More loving. More thoughtful. More like Christ.

I’m not enough. But I hope that through Him, I will be enough.

It’s that time again—my sister’s birthday! And I totally know what I want to get her. Unfortunately, I should have clicked that “buy” button last week. Sigh.

Oh, wait. I think I wanted to tell you it was time for a MamaBlogga Group Writing Project! As I posted yesterday, the theme for the October Group Writing Project is “Motherhood to me.”

As always, feel free to go in any direction that appeals to you. Even if you don’t choose to participate, you can encourage others to participate!

• Although the inspiration post is a fantastic essay-in-list-form, your post can take any form as long as it reflects this theme—this includes anything from serious to sarcastic, about your children, your future children, your pet, etc.
• You can participate with a blog post, a podcast, a video, a page on your website, etc., etc. If you don’t have a website, contact me and I’ll be happy to publish your entry here on MamaBlogga.
• Only NEW posts (i.e., posts have not been published prior to 10 October 2011) are eligible. Posts must be submitted through the submission form before Sunday, 16 October 2011.

Why participate?
There are lots of reasons to participate! All entries that meet the guidelines will be listed and linked to here on MamaBlogga. This an opportunity for you to discover new blogs (and for others to discover yours!). Also, see how you can get the most out of the GWP.

And, of course, there is one more incentive: one lucky post author, drawn at random, will receive a $30 gift certificate to Amazon.com (to be announced Monday, 17 October 2011).

Finally, we’d appreciate it if you linked to this post or to the guidelines/submission form on your entry post so that others can learn about the project and participate.

Get the badge!
Copy and paste this code to get the MamaBlogga GWP badge above (it includes a link back here, but I’d still appreciate a text link, too).

<a href="http://www.mamablogga.com/blogoversary-group-writing-project/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3513/3809317958_29e3f156e4_m.jpg" alt="MamaBlogga Group Writing Project" title="MamaBlogga Group Writing Project" /></a>

Previous Group Writing Projects:

• May 2007: Dear Children
• June 2007: Three things I want my kids to . . .
• July 2007: Thanks, Mom
• September 2007: Motherhood is . . .
• October 2007: The best things about this age
• November 2007: I’m grateful for my child(ren) because . . .
• December 2007: The best time of the year
• January 2008: Me time
• March/April 2008: Savoring the season
• August 2008: The new normal
• January/February 2009: Choosing happiness
• August 2009: Before I was a mom
• October 2010: Feeling fulfilled
• July 2011: Five years from now

I just love this post on “Motherhood To Me….” I think I originally bookmarked it planning to make a similar post, but as I sit down to write it, I think the sentiments deserve more than that.

I think this deserves a Group Writing Project (albeit a bit impromptu). I’ll post the full rules tomorrow, but for today, just go read “Motherhood To Me….” I hope it will inspire you, too!

Ryan got a subscription to Fitness magazine, thinking with a name like “Fitness” it would be for both genders. Of course, it’s really not. (I don’t know; are the pictures of half- and quarter-dressed women supposed to appeal to women? I know I don’t work out in underwear.)

I like to read it, though, especially after I saw this blurb on a study from Perspectives on Psychological Science in the October 2011 issue of Fitness (p 105; emphasis mine):

Women reported experiencing worse moods after reading an article touting the importance of joy and then immediately taking part in a fun activity. “Setting higher expectations for happiness can actually lead you to feel less happy,” says study coauthor Jane Gruber, Ph.D. . . . To avoid that buzzkill, pause to savor little feel-good moments. . . . “Enjoying the activities themselves, rather than because you think they are going to make you happy, is key,” Gruber says.

What do you think? What are your “little feel-good moments”? (You can see one of mine at right!)