MamaBlogger365 – Here Comes Summer! by Jennifer Flaten
Jennifer Flaten, MamaBlogger365 for Museum of Motherhood, on mothering through summer vacation – it’s almost here again!
MamaBlogger365 – True Grit and Mothering, by *Dr Mama {Amber Kinser}
Ever since I saw the remake of True Grit last weekend, I’ve been wondering about my own “grit.” I’ve been wondering what constitutes a person with grit and, maybe more importantly, what makes one’s grit “true.” Dr. Amber Kinser writes for the MamaBlogger365 series each Thursday at the Museum Of Motherhood, Mamapalooza and Mamazina Magazine.
MamaBlogger365 by *Dr Mama*, Dancing into Mother Care
The major problems from my mother’s blood pressure spikes and other simultaneous illnesses seem to have receded at this point so we are not living on the edge quite like we were last week. But things are changed now. I am thinking about my job in terms of what my parents need, I am thinking about my finances not in terms of personal savings or home improvements but in terms of the housing I may need to help fund, or even fund outright, and in terms of how on earth I can do that. Kinser writes for the MamaBlogger365 series each Thursday at the Museum Of Motherhood, Mamapalooza and Mamazina Magazine.
MamaBlogger365 – Seeing Red (For Women) by Diane Lang w/editorial by Joy Rose
Part of the task of reframing motherhood requires taking ‘the self’ into account. It’s the ‘M’ in (m)other, that ends up being the little slice of ‘Me’ time we all not only crave but require. Today, Diane Lang shares some of her ‘how to’ ideas’ when it comes to finding that all important encouragement to remember our basic needs must be met, before we can meet anyone else’s. It’s that work/life balance, passion and personal growth that we must continue to nurture, even when it seems like the day is long and time is short. Sometime it can even be a matter of life and death.
MamaBlogger365 – Looking for Metaphors in Unlikely Places by *Dr. Mama* Amber Kinser
I have been in a “blended” family for about 10 years now. I think the idea of “blended” is a bit of a misnomer. It suggests a certain fluidity, a certain smoothness, a certain coming together as one that has never quite characterized my family. The unit I’ve created with my partner and children has always felt so disrupted, so cobbled together, so ill-fitted that it has, in many ways, been a source of angst and even pain for me. If you think you’d like to write for the MamaBlogger365 initiative, raising awareness and funds for the Museum Of Motherhood, contact MamazinaMagazine@gmail.com
MamaBlogger365 – Why The ‘Diva’ Is Important, by Shira Adler (Diva Mama)
Imagine, if you will, a cosmic kitchen where a little sign announces that the child-advocate-vegetarian-eco-Kosher-Goddess is trading in her apron for the day in order to explore the world’s stage or at the very least, treat herself to a mani-pedi. My very essence, in fact seems inexplicably intertwined in a delicate dance that my “Diva” side does with the “Mama” side. Shira Adler, The Diva Mama, writes for MamaBlogger365 at Mamazina Magazine, raising awareness for the Museum Of Motherhood in New York City.
MamaBlogger365 – ‘Motherhood Is’ by Jennifer Andersen
Motherhood is: A constant contradiction of wanting to be with my children so much that I do not want to leave them to work, and being so bored from playing cars that I desperately want to be in an office full of adults. Jennifer Andersen is excited to be involved with a project like MamaBlogger365. (Would you like to join us as a writer too? Read the guidelines and send your perspective(s) to MamazinaMagazine@gmail.com) M.O.M that will bring some visibility to the realities that mothers face.
Motherhood, for me, is: The moment of seeing my children, after hours (or days) of not being present, as I went through the motions of meeting only their basic needs. A flash of regret after reaching frustrations point of no return, credited to too many hours spent with only my whining, demanding children. Bloodshot eyes from a night void of sleep, and still necessarily ensuring basic health and safety for two people incapable of doing so themselves. Jennifer Andersen writes at Pondering Jane and also for the MamaBlogger365 Initiative, ‘reframing motherhood’ to raise awareness and funds for the Museum Of Motherhood. Get involved by writing us MamazinaMagazine@gmail.com
*Dr Mama* by Amber Kinser for MamaBlogger365 – Love Rollercoaster
When I think of parenting my kids I always hear the song “Love Rollercoaster” in the background (done first by the Ohio Players in the seventies and then more recently by Red Hot Chili Peppers). It has my mothering theme song for years. The ride is unpredictable and suddenly shifting, high highs and low lows in a very short timespan. I can neither predict nor control where we will be next. Fighting and ill-will one day, crawling up in my bed to lay a head on my shoulder the next, aloof and apathetic the day after that (“rollercoaster…of love…rollercoaster…ooh hoo hoo hoo). Dr. Amber Kinser writes as ‘Dr. Mama’ each week for the Motherhood Museum.
MamaBlogger365 – Lazy Women Get Their Way? by Joy Rose
So what is a ‘normal’ part of being a woman, and should we award a special place in society for mothers to be? Why are we so ambivalent about the standing of mothers in our society? Actually, ambivalent might be a gentle term. We’re radically, schizophrenically ambivalent. Mothers grace the covers of our People Magazines, bellies bursting, toddlers in tow; African, English, American, Asian. We use our children like a badge of courage. They are our identity and we are stars in their eyes, just like Angelina Jolie is a star in our eyes. Or is she? Do we despise her like we despise the killer mother in Florida this week who shot her children at point blank range. Joy Rose writes for MamaBlogger365 at Mamazina Magazine, the Heart and Soul Of Women.
MamaBlogger365 – Look Ma, I’m Old(er) by *Dr. Mama*
I really loved being 16, and 25, and 34. But being older than that is much cooler than I had imagined. I feel more centered, positioned at a better vantage point that allows me to see what I couldn’t see before and to make things matter differently.
MaMaZinA 