A Mother's Monday ~ A New Edition to the Blog

As time moves forward and our daughter grows there are new joys, concerns, and challenges. Each an exciting addition to my life. If you follow the blog, then you know I tend to not post too much about my daughter. 

This is for a few reasons, first and foremost, to keep some aspects of life private and not invade my daughter's privacy. I think every mother could write a book on the what to do, and not to do, when raising a daughter. Women would read our books and agree, disagree, and laugh out loud, and cry, the whole time. 

Why such laughter and bouts of tears when reading? Simple, our children our individuals and although we may attempt to handle similar situations the same, this is not wise or feasible. Our parenting is based on the examples of our parents, adult role models, care givers, and/or guardians. I'm thankful for the ways my parents raised me but at the time, "I hate you" was a common phrase uttered from my teen mouth. Decades later I understand how painful and heart breaking these three words are and regret saying them. I apologized to my parents on multiple occasions for this and their response is priceless, one only a parent could utter. "No apologies necessary."

Mom did thank me once but said it wasn't necessary because she was "doing her job". There was a time in life when woman stayed home to raise their children. A stay-at-home-Mom was the norm and a 24/7 job. Today's society forces most women to join the work force to help make ends meet and provide for the family. This has its positives and negatives yet an aspect many overlook, to work outside the home, coupled with caring for your spouse, home, children, and pets is comparable to your spouse working overtime EVERY week. 

The pay you receive for this overtime is priceless, rewarding, and worth every second. I hope you feel the same way. 

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What will you read on this new weekly edition? I don't know! If you've lived with teenager then you know it's impossible to predict the future or determine what writing muse might be triggered from one week to the next. 

One thing you won't read is rantings of a mad Mom on the brink. My hope is to illustrate the challenges of parenting with a positive twist for survival, healthy relationships, and enjoyment. I'll share those memories of being the child on the receiving end of the parenting with the added revelation of "Oh, that's why they said or did what they did." too. I may even interview and highlight some women I know that WOW me and others with their strategies, patience, or other giftings.

Basically, this weekly blog post, similar to most blogs, will be one way for a Mom like me to share, encourage, and possibly vent once a week to other parents. My hope is you, the reader, will respond in comments below in response to what you read or my concluding question. I hope you will respond to each other too. Parenting has always been the MOST IMPORTANT, challenging, and REWARDING job one will have in this life time. So let's use this little piece of the Internet and the blogosphere to lift each other, share, and be encouraged ourselves in the realization...we are not alone in our feelings.

As iron sharpens iron,
    so one person sharpens another.
Proverbs 27:17

Name ONE topic you'd like to see me blog about.
What type of Mom would you like me to interview?
How fun do you think this "A Mother's Monday" will be?