For some reason, it seems like most people seem to be going through one kind of transition or another right now—oh, wait, that might be because motherhood is basically eighteen years of transitions. We have a baker’s dozen of 14 great entries on all kinds of transitions, and all kinds of new normals. So read, comment and commiserate!

• School Dazed! by Ursula
• The Times, They Are A Changin’ by The Diaper Diaries
• Two kids – a new normal by christy
• You learn something new every day by Lindsey
• The New Normal by Shannon (a.k.a. Believer in Balance)
• Give me your worst by Juggling Frogs
• Our New Normal by Candace Escobar
• A ‘new’ day in the life… by Deb – Mom of 3 Girls
• The New Normal by Misi
• Normality by tiff
• Am I the PB or the J? by Daisy
• Change: a constant of motherhood by Jordan (MamaBlogga)
• Leaving Normal by Charrette
• What is normal? by Crystal

Now, feel free to spread the link love by copying the above list (instructions) and posting it to your own blog. Believe me—they all deserve it (and some serious “me time”).

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

You learn something new every day by Lindsey

Congratulations, Lindsey, on not only winning the gift certificate (again, she was chosen at random!) but also on participating in a GWP for the first time! (I also recommend her recent posts on a quote from a book and defending motherhood!) The gift certificate will be winging its way to you soon!

Still working on your entry? Even though we’ve awarded our prize, we’ll continue to accept, read, link to and comment on submissions through next week.

Naturally, as soon as I was certain we’d found a comfortable holding pattern, Hayden changed. He’d spent weeks or months getting up at 9 AM, which afforded me the opportunity to get some work or housework done in peace. Suddenly, he began waking at 8, 7:30 or, one morning, 6:45. I was so frustrated at losing my time to sleep in or work quietly—to get a jump start on the day.

Finally, I began to see that I’d found a constant of motherhood: change.

It should have been obvious to me, but it wasn’t. As our children grow, they change, and they change our lives as parents, too. It’s as if we’ve begun a dance, almost—Hayden takes a step and I follow; I lead and he follows. He wakes up at 7, so do I. I put him to bed at 9 and he sleeps until 9:30.

But this dance isn’t a simple Fox Trot for two and a half minutes. It’s a week of Fox Trot, suddenly followed by two months of Waltz, then a few days of 5/4 time, and then some Swing mixed with Frugging. And in between those, you’re making up awkward transition steps.

The cause-and-effect isn’t always quite so neat, but for me the feeling of a careful balance between partners is almost tangible. Now we’re learning to dance with a third partner, which is a little weird, but hasn’t been too overwhelming (for the most part). The give-and-take is evolving yet again.

It’s hard to be flexible all the time, especially when you begin to find a routine that you can live with—or even like. But understanding that things do change and will change all the time in motherhood, especially with children so young, was my first step in adapting to the constant of motherhood—and in defining a “new normal.”

Part of the August GWP.

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!

• 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 17 August 2008) are eligible. Posts must be submitted through the submission form before Sunday, 24 August 2008.

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!). Last July, I came up with five ways to 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, 25 August 2008).

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.

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

I will never forget those first couple of weeks after the birth of my baby, Melissa. I was so excited to be a mother and while my mother, visiting from several hundred miles away, was caring for us, life was a breeze. All I had to do was take care of this sweet baby and somehow the rest of the details of my life moved along smoothly.

However, the day arrived when my mother returned home and before I could catch a breath, my life exploded around me. All of a sudden, I barely knew how to get through each moment, let alone each day. The ordinary tasks of life challenged my organization skills in ways I could not imagine: laundry, shopping, house cleaning, laundry, meal prep, errands, and just sleep eluded me day after day. This beloved baby who started out spending most of the day asleep now seemed to be awake and crying all the time. A quiet dinner and conversation with my husband was soon a distant memory.

The joys of motherhood seemingly disappeared, replaced by the inescapable responsibility of caring for this tiny person. I thought life would surely get back to normal if I just worked harder. Yet, the harder I worked, the more disappointed I became at the lack of control I had over any part of my life.

One night about six weeks later, I sat rocking my sleeping baby after the 2 AM feeding. The moon shone on her peaceful and quiet face and once again, I said to myself for the hundredth time, “When are things ever going to get back to normal?” It was really part of an ongoing prayer with my Heavenly Father. Yet that night I heard in my heart, the still, small voice that can only come from Him, “You are going to have a NEW normal now.”

Oh, that was it. I was to stop trying to go backwards to the old way of doing things and look forward to something new. As this simple idea took hold of my heart and mind, the weight of anxiety and frustration dropped from my shoulders as I let go of my expectations. Life, as I knew it, changed forever and for the next eighteen years, we rode a roller coaster of high adventure. I am so thankful for the gentle nudge to let go of the past and move forward in anticipation rather than fear of the unknown.

I love to tell the story of “the NEW normal” to first-time moms—that there is hope if we let go of our expectations. Life continues and now “my baby” has three daughters of her own and I have the privilege of loving, listening, and spoiling those precious girls…and then sending them home to mom. No one told me how much fun it would be to be a grandmother!

About Gerry
I am a wife, mother, and grandmother and find each role to be both fulfilling and challenging. My desire in blogging is to encourage women by sharing experiences that may help you with questions about everyday living. I want to inspire you to take risks in your personal life, challenge you to be bold in a world of gray or neutral, demonstrate God’s faithfulness in easy and hard times, and love you in a way that reveals God with skin on.

My blog is found at http://gerryblumberg.blogspot.com.