I love being a Mom.
It is the one thing I've always wanted to be.
I love knowing that The God of the Universe created me to be the mother of my children. And even though I am not worthy, I am.
But a couple of months after my third child was born, something happened deep within me.
I realized that being a mom wasn't enough.
It shocked me too.
I think at first, I thought the feeling came from postpartum blues or from my baby's difficult birth. But one thought kept playing itself over in my brain, I need something for me.
I remember the first time I spoke those words out loud. My sweet hubby suggested a pedicure. No. Deeper, more, meaningful. Okay, a writing conference? Mr. fix-it knew my deep desire to write and my frustration with no one willing to give me a chance. But that wasn't it either.
And then I got busy with life, and the words, although still present, quieted to a whisper.
I started my blog when my baby was 9 months old.
I had no idea it would be the answer to the question.
Now, nearly a year later, I view my life thru blog-colored glasses.
Blogging has turned me inside out. It has fulfilled my need to write, yes, but even more, it is has quenched the thirst to have something for me.
It is mine.
And I have learned so much about me. I have discovered an innate desire to encourage. It has always been there, but I thrive on helping people view their life more positively, while they are changing diapers or tackling clutter.
Blogging has also helped me to capture the fleeting moments. For years, I've neglected writing things down, but now in doing so, I have seared them into my heart and mind forever.
Many people view blogs as vanity on parade. And I can understand why. Since vanity loves company, I'm glad I have all of you. One of my favorite parts of blogging is the creativity that has been birthed. I think my creative hemisphere has grown immensely and made my head is bigger. Really.
It has also taught me to laugh. And to look for the humor! A year ago, I remember a friend of a friend commenting on my family's frequent visit to the ER. I was offended. I mean, how rude to actually mention the truth.
But I've learned to laugh at myself and that's been the biggest lesson of all!
Oh, and while I do not hope for mayhem, or encourage disaster, my senses have been sharpened to them.
Because seriously? A post about my hubby smearing peanut butter in his armpits at a family talent show, is just too good to forget. Tune in, I'll tell you all about next week. And there will be pictures. Oh! Goody!
And my life? It looks like roses thru those blog-colored glasses.
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66 comments:
Oh, I love, love, loved this post. Thanks Kristen. I have no idea why I love blogging so much.. but I think it is close to what you say here. It gives me so much. And the less I care about others reading my blog, the more happy I get with my blog. :) You seem to have a positive outlook on being a mommy and staying at home, and I don't. Exactly. lol I've felt for a long time that all this child-stuff just doesn't cut the butter. or slice the cheese. Or whatever, you know? It was just nice to hear someone else say it. :)
I love the pedicure suggestion! Too cute. And I agree about being able to laugh at ourselves.
Great post!
Amen. That's all I have to say.
I loved this post, I really did Kristin...especially now, after BlogHer when there has been so much talk of drama and all that associated nonsense. Sometimes the real reasons we do this get clouded and lost in the chaos that comes with the moniker; "mommy blogger."
You make me laugh, you make me smile and you inspire me to not lose sight of the important things. Sometimes I hang on very losely to that thread, but then I come out here, and read something that makes me grab on for dear life.
Thank for making my world a little rosier!
Kristen, I must admit I typically skim through blog posts. But I read. every. word.
I can relate to your relationship with your blog on many levels.
I find myself noting special moments in my life with more thoughtfulness and reflection. Almost everything becomes bloggable!
Thank you for this post. I feel as though I am not the only one who NEEDS to blog. Blog-colored glasses? Perfect title.
Blessings,
Alyssa
Keep blogging girl! I love reading it all. I think blogging has filled that same "something for me" need I have had too.
I recently found your blog, and love it..and your right, the best thing you can do is laugh at ourselves, or cry about it..and I would much rather laugh..;p
I love your blog Kristen! You are an inspiration.
Oh Kristen me too me too! I love that it's just for me. I love being a mommy, it is the joy of my heart, and it is very fulfilling but I need to be me, funny serious angry or sad people check in to say hello everyday, I need it. I like my bloggy colored glasses too.
There is a reason so many women take to blogging and thrive with it in addition to the millions of dollars you make (insert snort here).
It truly has become a place for me to go amid the chaos and keep myself whole.
Great post!
You took words I didn't know I had right out of my mouth.
So perfectly said! Thank you for putting it down so we all could remember why we blog, or think of our own reasons.
Peanut butter hunh??? Can't wait to hear about that one.
I, too, had gotten to a point in mommyhood where I just needed something for myself. Blogging has really helped fill that need.
I love that my blog has forced me to find humor and also reminds me to stop and enjoy the moments. It wasn't why I began my blog, but it's why I continue to blog.
Well, you DO make a lot of trips to the ER. :) Seriously, though, you really are an inspiration. You have written words that touch moms and make us all feel okay about ourselves. You give us humor in situations that would otherwise be overwhelming. Thank you.
Kristen,
I completely get this! I have longed to write! After taking a writing course (I know, just ONE course), I was at a time where writing time was challenged (like you, new baby) and I was nervous, nay- petrified, to put myself out there. I did a little submitting to some magazines, but I just did not push it.
When a friend mentioned blogging, I began READING blogs. I loved it. But I waited. It took me just under a year to finally start. And I'm so thrilled! I feel much like you! It's important for as as moms, as women, to share ourselves. AND to help others. It is amazing that we do indeed find out more about ourselves through this process.
Even in our mishaps, craziness of life....we are able to share, to make someone smile, laugh (you do that a LOT, you know!) and encourage!
And I want to say, Thank You!
ANd I'm a HUGE fan of peanut butter
so I can't wait to see that...
NOw I'm off to go repent for just scolding Sophie for dumping her Teddy Grahams on my while I'm BLOGGING...I know! I said REPENT, though!
I love the fact that blogging is for me, me, me! And of course all of the wonderful Moms that I meet along the way! It IS truly an outlet!
I love reading your blog! : )
My blog is an outlet for me. I use it when I need to get things off my chest, even though I may not write a post about the topic that is bothering me, if all I do is put a recipe in or post pictures of something around the house. It just seems to help.
I had the exact same thing happen. Needing something for me, and having movie nights and salon treatments suggested. The blog has done a lot for me, but in a way it's also taken me away from myself. I think it's been a tool to help me refine and identify myself, but I'm starting to feel like it's time to move past that. Not to quit blogging, but to stop DEPENDING on blogging for personal fulfillment. KWIM?
This is one of my most favorite posts so far. I love the idea of the blog-colored glasses probably because they are what I look through too. It is true that blogging provides me with some me time as I get the share my writing, record memories, and of course hang out with some awesome women. I am proud to be known as a vain friend with you!!
So very well said. I second that entirely. Blogging meets so many needs for me as a woman and a mom. And what a bonus to be able to journal family events. Peanut buttered armpits and all. ;)
I absolutely agree with you 100%! I feel the same way about my blog, and I find that writing it is one of the highlights of my day. I also may be just a teensy bit obsessed with checking comments and traffic stats...but what the heck! It's fun!
I love blogging for somewhat of the same reason... it's MINE! I don't have to share it with someone else. I'm not as good with words as many others & it's all about my girls, mostly, but it's MINE! lol
And I love "meeting" all the new Mom's I've discovered, through blogging.
Very nicely said!
I don't know if blogging meets a need for me. I think I just like to hear myself talk [smile].
No, you're right: One of the things that I'm all about is sharing what I know with others in the hopes the it helps them. Blogging does that for me, even if no one ever reads my stuff [smile].
Great post.
~Luke
You hit it on the head!
I love the "blog-colored glasses" - that's it exactly - and I may have to borrow that term. :) I'm always thinking "Hey! I need to write about this in my blog!" LOL
We (my husband and I) are always saying "I feel a blog coming on" I used to blog on myspace. And although I poured my heart out in those blogs, my new blog has been a completely different experience.
When I started it in the beginning of May I struggled to find my voice. I am still trying to find my place in the blogosphere and some days it really does overwhelm me. All I know is...it does fulfill something deep inside. It's a sense of community and self discovery. It also is a place to record all of the happenings in daily life that are otherwise lost in the sea of well....daily life.
I feel really blessed to be a part of it all. I think for me it is a mixture of vanity and nosiness. I love reading blogs and feeling like I am not the only one.
You should know that even when my Google Reader is full because I don't have time to read everyone's blogs. I ALWAYS read yours. This post says it all. I feel a blog coming on!
Sometimes we are afraid to speak the truth about that aspect of being a mom. We are women, individuals as well. We still need the same things we did before we became a mother. Blogging has help me find a little of that piece to the puzzle as well. It's nice to know we're in the company of others that feel the same and aren't afraid to say "hey I'm not Supermom".
I hear ya!
The reasons I started blogging are a little different from my reasons for continuing.
I love to journal...but journaling with pictures? Now that's perfection! It's not complicated or too time-consuming so I keep up on it. It is the story of my family, my life, my journey growing closer and closer to Jesus. Our pictures, the childrens' conversations, my heart. My blog is being printed with from blurb.com. I want my children to be able to enjoy reading about us when they're older.
Seeing the world through my blog-coloured glasses has given me a new perspective as well!
Thanks for the post.
Wow... can I get a YEEHAW for this post! Thank you thank you thank you for posting it.
You said it, sister!
Thanks for putting into words what I've been feeling!
What a wonderful blog mission statement! I started blogging just to capture those crazy moments in life. My first post was in the winter when my daughter came out of the house in nothing but a pair of my high heel boots! Ahh the good times!
Fabulous post! Self-examination is a difficult thing to do and one most of us are WAY too busy to do. The act of blogging allows you to do this, and yours is one of the best answers to why? that I've seen. Bravo!
"Many people view blogs as vanity on parade." Really? Is that what this is? I thought it was a community, in a world without people talking on their front porches. Where you are scared to talk to your neighbors
"One of my favorite parts of blogging is the creativity that has been birthed. I think my creative hemisphere has grown immensely" Now this I can agree with. The whole use it or lose it theory. Since starting to write again I find it getting easier and easier, now I just need to pick up some art supplies again and see what happens.
Glad to be on the road with you.
Awesome post! I am so glad you came to blogging because I always enjoy reading what you have to say.
And thanks for taking the stigma out of being THAT family. I, for one, am proud to be a part of the THAT Family Tree Society!
I love this post! It touches on why so many of us mommies blog. It's a flexible way to be "more" than "just" a mom. All why celebrating the very fact we are moms. Thanks for sharing the view. :)
You my dear, hit the nail on the head!
I never really thought about it that way before. it really does fulfill a need that I didn't realize I needed to fill. I love the people in the blog world and the friends that I have made. There is something freeing about being able to write and have others not judge, but only love and give support!! Love that you share your talents with all of us!! You go girl!
Beautiful. And oh so true. And it's so nice to enjoy doing what you are so good at. I love reading your posts!
True! True! True!
The Surveyor once tried to offer some "suggestions" about how I should write my blog. Once.
Call me selfish, but it's MINE, and it's becoming exactly what I want it to be :)
I LOVE this world. I can be myself, and people like me that way!
I too find it refreshing what blogging allows me to witness/experience/pay attention to, sometimes for the first time, even though it may have been something that has happened many times before! My kids can say and do pretty amazing things, but before blogging I would seldom write it down or make note of it, but now I do....it's a way to document the present rather than trying to remember it down the road...when my memory starts to go (it has already..I've got 5 kids..I think it went years ago!) Thank you for your take on life and humorous approach. I read you everyday! I'm also a friend of Robin in ABQ-she sent me your direction!!
We can't identify ourselves with our roles in life. Being a mother is a blessing but it's not who we are. I'm glad you've discovered yourself and found happiness through your blog.
Love your blog, you keep writing I'll keep reading, so glad I found you.
I agree. I've only put 2 posts on my blog so far (you gave me my first comment!), but this is MY thing. I haven't even told anyone that knows me about it because I want to feel totally comfortable to write what I want, be spiritual, talk about my faults, etc. It's my personal space.
I could brag and say that I don't watch tv anymore, but it's because I spend all of my free time reading blogs!
I love your page and can relate to so much of what you say.
I know how you feel! I'm very new to blogging, but I have found it to be the perfect place where all my interests and passions can come together and I can share them with more people than I ever thought possible(and in a dynamic way!) I've learned a lot from reading blogs like this one. Keep up the good work.
You know, what is nice is that you blog with a purpose, a desire, a driven reason. And it fulfills you. I blog just because. Because it lets me share pictures with family very easily, and let me talk about things that are dearest to me....family and friends. But the GREATEST thing that has come from blogging...is the meeting of so many special people. The world is a very small place, we are all special people, with a story of our own. No matter who or what, each story is unique in its own way. That...THAT is what I like about blogging.
I still feel like I am new to blogging. I began my blog almost a year ago as a place to say stuff I didn't know how to say to myself or my family. It was a release, and I am only now realizing the wonderful potential it gives me. I didn't know how much I enjoy writing. Now I do. I enjoy thinking about what to write, or reaching out to family in a new way. I love to express my faith, and have a place to "be me".
Cindy P :)
PS:
I do not recall if I have commented on your blog before, but I have been "lurking" here for awhile. I find your writing to be fresh and inspiring. :)
I love the "blog-colored glasses". That is exactly what I do and didn't even realize it! I loved this post. You are amazing.
You took the words right out of my mouth. How is it that you are always doing that? :)
Confessions of an Apron Queen: http://anapronaday.blogspot.com
Great post!
I honestly can't believe you have been blogging for as little time as you have. And I also can't believe you were turned down by publishers. Not that I am calling you a liar, my dear. But in my humble opinion, You have talent. And you strike a chord with me and obviously MANY others. Keeping on being a light for our Lord in this blogging world.
I have only been blogging a few short months but have found it to be an outlet I didn't know I needed.
We're all so glad you're here! :) Your blog rocks. I know what you mean about blogging making you see things differently,and making you record things more conscientiously...it's done that for me too! :)
very well said! I agree with and can relate to the many things yo said. Add the friendships developed through blogs - this whole blogging thing is wonderful!
Well, I for one am glad that you are blogging...I have really enjoyed reading it over the last few weeks!!
What poignant post - thank you.
(Crap, I hope I spelled poignant right.)
Love this post! Hoping that I find something like this in my own blog.
Since everyone else did (and you know I don't like to be left out) , I'd like to say why I blog. (Maybe I'll write it's own post about it after tomorrow's 'Fro me to you.)
I write to feel smart, honestly. Sometimes, my regular job is so mind-numbing and volunteering challenges my organizational skills and paitence and motherhood is also fufilling. But nothing challenges my intelligence like writing.
Thanks for inspiring my brain and always my heart.
This is a wonderful post!
Thank you for sharing your life with us. Can't wait to hear about the peanut buttered pits!
I am very new to blogging (I started a couple of weeks ago) and you have very eloquently stated EXACTLY what I hope to get from this experience.
I told my husband almost a year ago I needed a "creative outlet". I believe I may have found it.
Thank you for confirming that for me. And thanks for the comment last week; I was truly honored that you stopped by considering ALL the comments you receive! ;-)
My sentiments exactly. I know that being a mom is the most important calling I'll ever have, and I love my kids more than I'll ever be able to express. But as moms, I also think it's important to not forget who we were before we had children...our interests and talents. When we squeeze in a little time for ourselves it helps us to be better moms and better people.
Thank you for sharing your talent and encouraging others to view their lives more positively. I'm sure that's why so many people LOVE your blog. I am a big fan of rose-colored glasses. Of course, we all have our moments, but really, there is so much to be thankful for and enjoy on this rollercoaster of life.
Thanks again for this post!
yes yes yes yes yes
I love reading your blog and come back often. I like it because it isn't always perfect and rosy and you post about the good and the bad which is great. I feels like listening to soomeone tell a story rather then reading.
I've been reading a lot of blogs for a while now and I decided to start because there seemed to be a great community. I was brought up in a very close knit community but people move for different reasons, house prices, new jobs whatever and there isn't really any community to speak of here these days. Everyone's so busy with their day to day I suppose it's hard to take the time to talk to a neighour. People don't even seem to be able to make the time for family anymore, so its nice when someone sits down at the end of the day and takes the time to tell everyone how things are with them.
This is one of many of you great posts. Thanks.
You just said exactly what I feel since I started blogging. It's therapeutic (sp?; it also forces you to work on your spelling and grammar skills...maybe); it brings me some humor and/or smiles in each day; it fulfills the desire to write (for now!); it is a record of my life; it has given me new knowledge and new friends, too.
Thank you for saying it so well and for letting the rest of us share in the record of your life.
This post sums it up perfectly why I blog. Excellent.
Your words are absolutely beautiful. And YES. That is it...blogging is something that is MINE around here. I can't go the bathroom without someone needing me. I can't leave the house alone. But late at night, like right now, this time is MINE.
Thanks for putting it so eloquently into words - even the pedicure suggestion. HAH!
Jennifer
I just began blogging about a month ago and I agree wholeheartedly with you, that is why I blog also. Something for just me.thanks
I hope you took him up on the pedicure suggestion and THEN said no AFTERWARDS. :) I never turn down a pedicure!!!
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