What prompted you to write this book?
As a co-creator for the M2M book series I wanted to share from my own experience of motherhood. Being a blender mom myself, I know how much encouragement I need everyday. The obstacles I faced fell into two categories, the things I could share and the issues I felt no other mom would understand.
What have been the most challenging and most rewarding parts of being a mom?
The answer to that is probably material for a gazillion Oprah shows. The most challenging parts of being a mom has been my own condemning voice that tells me that I'm not enough and the trap of comparing myself to other moms. There is always going to be some mom in your neighborhood that can bake more cookies, volunteer more hours then you need to sleep and whose child is a member of Mensa. As the Beatles song goes. "Let it be". The rewards on the other hand are watching your kids succeed, hearing your son or daughter give advice to a friend using your words and phrases, or hearing them share a family story that blended families work so hard to make way for. These are things of beauty.
Who has been most influential to you as a parenting role model?
My own parents, who managed to convince me at an early age that they loved me, that I could do anything and that life is an adventure.
How does your faith impact your daily life as a mom?
Frankly, I have often wondered how moms operate without faith? I mean, who do you blame? Seriously, I spent most of my early years as a mom on my knees and the impact of my faith is that I survived, and more importantly that I would do it all again.
The new series "Mom2Mom" - what makes this unique?
This series is written by real women, who share a life perspective of gratitude that has made a difference in how they see themselves as moms. So much of motherhood requires a bigger view that allows us space to ask what is most important? It is far too easy to make motherhood a job and forget that it is your life. M2M series is a view from the tree house for every mom you know.
What challenges are unique to your own model of motherhood?
The most debilitating challenge for me was never being "mom, that you are an outsider in your own home. This is compounded by other obstacles, such as working with the other parent, visitations, dealing with kids who will use the parent triangle to manipulate and the emotional fallout that results for kids of divorce. You and your needs plummet to the bottom of this list and there are days you wonder if you are invisible.
What does Mother's Day mean to you?
In my fantasy, it is the day when my family wakes me up with the aroma of salmon & eggs benedict. They surround me with small gifts and cards. Conversely, my reality involves homemade cards with sentiments that are written and re written several times and carry hints of eraser, white out, and a pen pressed hard. There are flowers from Safeway and a breakfast that revolves around sausage. Mother's Day is the day God reminds me what is true, I am their mom, they love me deeply and our bond is real. My only complaint is that it should be a celebrated, bi-monthly.
What is the most important lesson that you as a mom want to teach your children?
That I love them and they are incredibly valuable.
What is your most challenging holiday as a mom - and how do you overcome this?
Christmas is by far the most challenging. I end up breaking all my own rules and overdoing. Why is it that I think I need to create some kind of winter wonderland in my living room, or that it will produce Christmas memories akin to a Kincade painting? This year I kept to the budget, slept, ate healthy, didn't volunteer to head up projects, didn't bake one cookie and kept most of my decorations in their boxes. I told my kids--expect more changes next year.
What is the best 'tip' you have gotten as a mom you want to share with another mom?
Worry less about clean floors and invest your energies in creating a soft spot for your kids to land.
Describe yourself in one word as a mom - and why you chose that word to describe yourself.
Warrior-mom. I fought to get them, shield them and to convince them they were worth fighting for.
If you had a television series created about your personal adventures as a mom - what would you call the program?
Lessons in Buoyancy
New Leaf Press->
