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Triptych

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Naomi

Two weeks ago, a tiny bud. One week ago, beginning growth. Today, flourishing.

Simply amazing.

Posted in Photography | Tagged nature, Photography, triptych | 1 Comment

Prickly beauty

Posted on March 12, 2011 by Naomi

<– “Heart”

Posted in Photography | Tagged cactus, Photography | Leave a comment

A break from routine

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Naomi

I am downright fearful of next week’s “Spring Break.”

No dance class, no gymnastics, no weekly babysitter, no parent/toddler class, no Tot Shabbat. How on earth is this a break? A break from sanity? Routine? What’s a mom to do???

Posted in Motherhood | Tagged Motherhood, Spring Break | 2 Comments

On our tax return, my occupation is listed as “homemaker.” I loathe that title, even though that is exactly what I am. For me, it conjures up images of women from past generations, isolated at home with no ambition (then, opportunity) to make something of themselves. Like I can’t handle it out in the world so I’ll just stay home. (BTW, this is way more challenging than working in an office… for me anyway. And I think it’s way more important.)

I completely agree that there is still a stigma in society about being a SAHM. When I’m asked what I “do” and I answer, I usually hear some platitude about that being the hardest job there is and then… nada. The person doesn’t have anything else to say. Do they think I don’t follow current events, read books and magazines, or get involved in my community? I do have a life outside of my child, albeit a completely different one than in my pre-baby days. Just because I change diapers doesn’t mean I can’t change the world too.

I love this article on CNN today about being a stay-at-home mom. It talks about the benefits of being a SAHM today, working part-time from home, and about blogging too.

“In my pre-kid life, I never imagined that someday I’d be a stay-at-home mom — hey, I didn’t go to grad school to spend my days changing diapers. But when I held my first baby, Mathilda, I had a complete change of heart. As soon as we locked eyes, all those career and financial worries faded. They didn’t disappear, but they certainly became secondary.

… They all have something in common: a deep desire to be there for every moment of their babies’ lives — the good, the bad and the unbelievably messy.”

The article mentions some of the benefits of being home: a realistic schedule (except I also race to the computer as soon as naptime begins so I can catch up on blogs, e-mail, and pictures), time to smell the coffee (being in the moment and savoring the day with our babies, who grow up so fast), direct-access breastfeeding (I pumped at work for a few months — no fun), among others.

* * * * *

“Plug “mom bloggers” into a search engine and you’ll come up with thousands of SAHMs who chronicle their daily lives online. Moms share stories and tips about single parenting, adoption, home schooling and more. “Mom bloggers are hugely influential because they represent the authentic voices of other moms,” says Jennifer James.”

I enjoy blogging and reading blogs because it connects me to other parents with days similar to mine. I feel less isolated and more a part of a giant force out there. Boy do I wish I’d found this community when my daughter was born.

Posted in Motherhood | Tagged blogging, Motherhood, stay-at-home mom | 16 Comments

A sisterhood of writers

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Naomi

Yesterday was my writing teacher’s birthday. The five of us in the class gave ourselves the topic “What The Momoir Project Means to Me” and sent our essays to her at the same time as a surprise. We want her to know how much she and the classes she teaches mean to us. My friend Stephanie, in her essay, named us “a sisterhood of writers.” Level 2 is almost over and my writing is vastly different than it was 9 months ago. Heck, I even started a blog.

My classmate and friend, Tracey, has written something similar on her own blog.

* * * * *

Today is the first weekday in 18 months that I have four hours completely to myself. Hannah is with a babysitter at home and I am at a loss to know what to do with myself and this sweet freedom. The list of options is endless: get an oil change for my car, go grocery shopping ALONE, return those overdue library books. I can hear my husband’s voice in my head telling me to enjoy the time and do something nice for myself. I decide to take a few magazines and my laptop to a nearby coffee shop and take it from there.

Brain, Child Magazine is one of my favorites and it’s a luxury to be able to sip hot chocolate and read it all in one sitting. I get to the last few pages and I see an ad for something called The Momoir Project. The name makes me smile. I don’t think I have ever felt compelled to do something because of an ad in a magazine, but there is something about this one that speaks to me. I’ve lately been thinking of things I could do to recover some of the sense of self that I had prior to being a mother (hence the four free hours a week). I immediately grab my computer and look up the website, captivated by the idea of preserving memories of these early days of motherhood. I already know that I need to write in order to know how I feel about things, a process of uncovering layer after layer until I can see who I really am. I have not known where to begin. I decide to purchase the Momoir’s e-workbook and start carving out some time for writing.

Months have gone by. The printed pages of the workbook are sitting on my desk. I haven’t a clue where to begin. Just before I am about to tuck those pages into a drawer, I get an e-mail blog post from Cori that she is going to award a place in her upcoming online class to the winner of an essay contest about why the class would be beneficial. What can it hurt to try? I write about my need for writing in order to understand myself, about my full days with my daughter, and about needing the discipline and accountability that the class would offer.

My husband and I are traveling when the e-mail comes from Cori a month later telling me that I have won. I am stunned and so elated that I can barely tell my husband what has just happened.

* * *

I loved that Level 1 class so much that I signed up for Level 2. Cori and my new fellow writing friends have inspired me countless times, have given me confidence in myself, and have kept me writing. Because of The Momoir Project, I have been able to delve into feelings and memories that I never would have otherwise. I am a happier mother, a better writer, and a more creative person because of it. I love having something to call my own, to be able to call myself a writer as well as a wife and mother. The Momoir Project has changed my life.