My 'Why' for this Blog Site

As an infant, I had a primitive understanding of who my mom was from the sight, sound, smell and role she played to keep me alive through basic needs and her attunement to those needs. Thanks, Mom! It doesn’t take a dictionary definition to understand the word or the role, but I looked it up anyway when starting to write this book. Some of the search results for an actual denotation yielded some anticlimactic results when considering the overwhelming impact of the role. For instance, here’s how Merriam-Webster defines what a mom is:

mom

[mäm]

NOUN | mom (noun) · moms (plural noun)

Informal: a female parent: mother

Example: Have you asked Mom if we can go?

This definition is clear, concise, and direct as it literally defines what a mom is. However, it doesn’t even come close to the complexity of the role as it is anything but clear, the responsibilities are never concise, and expectations are never direct.

In Emily’s dictionary of words that matter, the definition of the word “mom” looks like this:

mom

NOUN

mom (noun) | moms (plural noun)

A parent providing maternal support to another living being

Example: Mom needed to run to the grocery store again.

VERB

mommed (past tense) | mom or mommying (present tense) | will mom (future tense)

The act of stewardship by caring, nurturing, cultivating, analyzing, and carrying out all her family and the dog need while maintaining a sense of self

Example: The bus is dropping the kids at the bus stop anytime between 2:38 and 3:12. Doctor’s appointment is at 4:00 and 27 miles away. Dinner is in the crockpot and baseball practice is at 6:00. Time to mom the day!

ADJECTIVE

mom

Describing something that can be either glamorous or drab, and is occasionally both simultaneously

Example: I’m rocking the mom bun because 15 more minutes of sleep was way more valuable than a shower and washing my hair this morning.

ADVERB

mom

Describing an action that may or may not be fun, but still has to get done

Example: I was momly ambitious and put the clean laundry on the bed so I had to fold it before going to sleep. I was exhausted so it’s on the floor again. There’s always tomorrow.

A whole lot of life goes into the development and definition of a mom. What you read in the pages that follow and derive from their meaning is not meant to identify with all moms. I won’t project my own views on what I think a mom should be, the way a mom should act, what a mom should say, or the value that should be placed on you as a mom. I’m not that cool. No one else is that cool except you and the One who created you. The way I mom has everything to do with my own unique experiences and the perspective I’ve gained from them.

I work on mom life constantly and fail daily. I still wake up every morning to caffeine-induced motivation and an innate desire to do better. I’ve been a married mom, single mom, working mom, stay-at-home mom, homeschool mom, public school mom, mom of children who have special needs, and most recently – cancer mom. Each unique experience has been divinely orchestrated to prepare me for the next. Each storm seasoning me for the strength it takes to be who I need to be for those depending on me. I’m walking a daily journey that requires obedience in faith that I’m not alone and serve a faithful God who keeps His promise to not forsake and provide for me. I have not been perfect in my faith as you’ll soon read. I serve a forgiving and graceful God and I’m grateful for my stories.

This book is a collection of stories and reflections from navigating my mom journey. Each challenge faced has been invariably different, but the truths that lead me are steadfast even when I’m not. The light that guides me never fades even when I’ve been weak and victim to the enemy’s shadows.

Moms pass through rougher seas than me and I don’t mean to act as authority on hardship and ways to endure. I don’t want to be an authority on hardship or prescribe to you ways of coping. Don’t compare your story to mine and think you don’t have the right to complain. I hear that from people and it skirts the point for sharing. That doesn’t invalidate the fact that each mom has gone or is going through a storm of her own that is unique to her and is seasoning her as she weathers it. We are all wonderfully created to be everything needed to not just endure, but to thrive in our mom game. I want to reach all those who are devoted to being good moms – to those living their own mom stories. Don’t use my stories to compare, but use them to remember your own. Use them to remind yourself of how far you’ve come, all you’ve learned, what you’ve faced, and all you’ve conquered for the sake of your children. I’m proud of you.