by To-Wen Tseng | May 22, 2015 | 2015, Awareness, Babies, Birthing, Blogging, Breastfeeding, Human Rights, Journalism, Newborn Health, Priorities, Sexual Assault, The Advocates of Human Rights, To-Wen Tseng, USA, Womanhood, Women's Rights, Working Mother, World Moms Blog, World Motherhood
The writer interview with World Moms Blog asked what made me unique as a mother.
I could not answer the question, for I am not unique. I am an ordinary mother with a child, a husband, a job, and a station wagon.
But, still, every ordinary mother has a story. This is mine. (more…)
by Susan Koh | May 21, 2015 | 2015, Awareness, Being Thankful, Domesticity, Family, Friendship, Gratefulness, Happiness, Health, Holiday, Husband, Independence, Life Balance, Me-Time, Mental Health, Motherhood, Parent Care, Parenting, Relationships, Responsibility, Responsibility, Singapore, Stress, Susan Koh, Vacationing, World Motherhood
As mums, we are always seen as the one who should be self-sacrificing and present for our families. After all, we are the ones that our children turn to when they can’t go to bed, when they need a kiss on their boo boo or when they are back from school with a growling tummy that needs to be fed.
I’m not complaining about motherhood and there is nothing in the world I would trade it for. But some days, I feel so tired of playing mummy that I wish I could escape from all my mummy duties; and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only mum who feels this way.
And as you have it, I did get a little escapade when my group of girlfriends decided to head for a short weekend getaway to Thailand, sans husband and kids. Thankfully, my hubby was more than happy to step up and take care of my little one, giving them extra bonding time.
It turned out to be a weekend of shopping, eating and shopping some more; something that I hardly do with a little one who’s too inpatient to get out of the malls. And I could eat all the spicy food I wanted, which I usually avoid since I end up sharing most of my meals with my daughter. Nights were spent staying up late, chatting with friends and watching movies back in the hotel.
Did I miss my child? Of course, I did but you know what, it was refreshing to place myself first and not worry about my family during this break.
Sadly for mums, being selfish or putting ourselves first is regarded as a sin. And that’s why there are so many tired and depressed moms, who feel that they have no choice but to be dutiful and ignore their own needs.
Happy Mother = Happy Family
Never for a second did I think that I was a bad mom for going on that trip. I think that as moms, sometimes we need to choose ourselves over our families to ensure that we are recharged in order to go the distance and be a better spouse and better mother.
I love being a mom and while I’m far from being a perfect or super mom, I can say that I’m doing my best every single day.
My mantra has always been Happy Mother = Happy Family. And might I add for my hubby, Happy Wife= Happy Life.
So go ahead, take care of yourself. Pursue your personal happiness and take time to nourish yourself, body, mind and soul. Trust me, you’ll benefit from it and your children will too!
This is an original post to World Moms Blog from our “super mom” of one in Singapore, Susan Koh.
The image used in this post is credited to the author.
Susan is from Singapore. As a full-time working mom, she's still learning to perfect the art of juggling between career and family while leading a happy and fulfilled life. She can't get by a day without coffee and swears she's no bimbo even though she likes pink and Hello Kitty. She's loves to travel and blogs passionately about parenting, marriage and relationship and leading a healthy life at A Juggling Mom.
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by Susie Newday (Israel) | May 20, 2015 | 2015, Gratefulness, Israel, Life, Life Lesson, Mental Health, Stress, Susie Newday, Uncategorized
It’s funny how in our world of privilege and plenty, most of us have to make a conscious effort to practice daily gratefulness.
Without even realizing it, we tend to concentrate on what’s wrong in our lives, what we want to change, and what we don’t have. It’s kind of ironic seeing that “all we don’t have” is a bottomless pit that could never be filled.
On the other hand, what we do have is plentiful. It’s everywhere, in the little things and the big things. From a good cup of coffee, to running water and sewage, to our health.
Yet, how often do we regularly praise all the good and great things in our lives? Not nearly as much as we complain about the less than perfect things.
Sure, we enjoy moments that make our hearts swell, moments of surprise and appreciation, moments filled with laughter and love. I find, however, that for the most part, it’s only when we’re exposed to tragic or sad events that we take the time and make the effort to recognize just how good our imperfect lives really are.
I was thinking a lot about gratefulness and happiness when it suddenly hit me that it’s all about what we allow to flow into our lives. It’s about what we choose to accept and how we choose to accept and view it.
So what do we choose?
Do we choose expectations, hurt, negativity, control, pain, disappointment and perfectionism? Or do we choose love, understanding, empathy, gratitude, kindness, joy, satisfaction, respect, warmth and affection?
I think that most of us are struggling with the unsettling peaks and valleys of happiness and sadness mixed with bursts of anger, frustration and disappointment. The reason for that is a negative outlook on life. It’s a matter of what we see. My default in any situation is to first see the problems and the difficulties. It’s been a tough journey trying to retrain my brain to concentrate first on all the good things.
After all, how can we expect the good things to flow into our lives when we are unwittingly blocking them by viewing the world through negative glasses? Imagine what the world would look like if we all wore our “positive outlook” glasses every day and managed to not only see the best in others but also the best in ourselves?
Imagine if we could learn to be grateful, understanding and empathetic every minute of the day, not just in word, but in action as well. Imagine if we got rid of the no and opened our minds to yes.
What are you allowing to enter your life?
This is an original post to World Moms Blog.
Photo by Flavio, used under a Flickr Creative Commons License.
Susie Newday is a happily-married American-born Israeli mother of five. She is an oncology nurse, blogger and avid amateur photographer.
Most importantly, Susie is a happily married mother of five amazing kids from age 8-24 and soon to be a mother in law. (Which also makes her a chef, maid, tutor, chauffeur, launderer...) Susie's blog, New Day, New Lesson, is her attempt to help others and herself view the lessons life hands all of us in a positive light. She will also be the first to admit that blogging is great free therapy as well. Susie's hope for the world? Increasing kindness, tolerance and love.
You can also follow her Facebook page New Day, New Lesson where she posts her unique photos with quotes as well as gift ideas.
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by Nicole Melancon (USA) | May 19, 2015 | 2015, Global Citizenship, Social Good, Tanzania, Third Eye Mom, World Voice
Have you ever had a dream for so long that it never stopped bugging you until you decided to just do it? For me, it has always been Kilimanjaro. I have wanted to climb this epic mountain for over 15 years since my father did it in October 1999 before my wedding. There really has not been any other dream or travel goal that I have had for that long.
Like most dreams, there have been many obstacles and road blocks along the way. The first big one was timing. There was no way I could go climb Kilimanjaro when I was in the midst of wedding planning, and honestly at that time I had never ever even considered climbing a mountain before. I had hiked all my life but had never climbed a mountain. My dad was always the mountain climber in the family, the one who took these amazing trips and challenged himself to new heights. Not me. Yet still his 1999 trip started a fire inside my wanderlust soul.
It wasn’t until 2001 a few months after September 11 that I did my first real, big, out-of-country hike. My dad and I hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru. I had never been on a multi-day hike before nor had I been above 12,000 feet. But this magical trip would be a turning point in my life. It would be the first of many hiking trips with my dad to off-the-beaten path places. It would open my eyes to the world outside of Europe, which had always been my safety net in traveling. It would instill a passion and desire to explore. A wanderlust that would never cease, not after getting married, having children, becoming a stay-at-home mom and turning 40.
Instead of satiating, my travel bug grew and grew, and grew. Fortunately, instead of having all my travel end once I had children it actually blossomed. My dad and I continued to take yearly trips to Argentina, Iceland, France, China, India, Nepal and most recently Bolivia. My husband pushed me to follow my dreams and supported my decisions to volunteer abroad in Morocco, Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica. I began my blog and the travel door continued to open as I visited India, Ethiopia and Haiti.
I often get those questions or remarks such as “How do you do it?” or “You are so lucky, my husband would never let me go“. That feeling of guilt about why should I be able to do this when others can’t even feed their family. Yet I have pushed it aside and realized that I have an incredible opportunity to use the good fortune of traveling to give back. To make a difference. To dedicate my life to helping people who don’t have these luxuries. So that is why I do what I do and am who I am.
As with my dream of climbing Kilimanjaro, I could easily have just signed up to climb it and gone by myself. I had thought about doing it many times. I even was going to do it with my husband years ago but we decided on Chile instead. Then came the kids and we never wanted to leave them without at least one parent home (hence why my husband does not travel with me).
I wanted this climb to be special. I wanted it to mean something similar to my life-changing trip to Nepal.
Like an act of fate, I got the call a few months ago from my dear friend, and fellow World Moms Blog Editor Elizabeth Atalay of Documama. Elizabeth and I met at a blogging conference a few years ago and since then we have worked together as writers at World Moms Blog, ONE.org, and Mom Bloggers for Social Good. One of our projects with Mom Bloggers for Social Good was to review an advanced copy of Betsy Teutsch’s new book called “100 Under $100: One Hundred Tools for Empowering Global Women”. One of the non-profits inside of that book was Solar Sister. Solar Sister is based in Rhode Island where my friend Elizabeth lives, and Rhode Island is a small state.
Elizabeth was familiar with Solar Sister and over a lunch with a friend of hers who works there, she learned about their #SolarSisterSummit climb this July. Knowing this was a dream of mine, she phoned me right away to tell me about it. It was fate. I did a Skype call with the team a few days later and signed up instantly and haven’t looked back. Climbing Kilimanjaro while knowing I am doing it not only for myself, but to help others is amazing.
Over the next month and a half I will be actively fundraising with a goal of reaching $4,000 that will cover the training for 8 new Solar Sister Entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa. To date, I have almost raised $2,000! These women will have a new opportunity. It is a thrilling feeling knowing what an impact I will make.
The road ahead will be exhilarating. I have a lot of training to do, and more fundraising. But I know I can do it. My mom and dad always taught me to chase my dreams and never give up. I don’t think there is any better lesson I could have ever learned from them that is more valuable except of course to love, to be compassionate, and to be grateful.
Have you ever had a long-term dream or goal that you finally were able to fulfill?
This is an original post written for World Moms Blog by Nicole Melancon of Third Eye Mom.
Kilimanjaro Photo credit Wikimedia
Third Eye Mom is a stay-at-home mom living in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her two children Max (6) and Sophia (4). Her children keep her continually busy and she is constantly amazed by the imagination, energy and joy of life that they possess! A world wanderer at heart, she has also been fortunate to have visited over 30 countries by either traveling, working, studying or volunteering and she continues to keep on the traveling path.
A graduate of French and International Relations from the University of Wisconsin Madison, where she met her husband Paul, she has always been a Midwest gal living in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Chicago. This adventurous mom loves to be outside doing anything athletic (hiking, running, biking, skiing, snowshoeing or simply enjoying nature), to travel and volunteer abroad, to write, and to spend time with her beloved family and friends.
Her latest venture involves her dream to raise enough money on her own to build and open a brand-new school in rural Nepal, and to teach her children to live compassionately, open-minded lives that understand different cultures and the importance of giving back to those in need. Third Eye Mom believes strongly in the value of making a difference in the world, no matter how small it may be. If there is a will, there is a way, and that anything is possible (as long as you set your heart and mind to it!).
Visit her on her blog, Thirdeyemom, where she writes about her travels and experiences in other lands!
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by Marie Kléber | May 18, 2015 | France, Interviews
Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?
I live in Paris. I am from France, Nantes, on the west coast. I lived in Dublin, Ireland, for a couple of years before coming back home.
What language(s) do you speak?
I speak French and English. I know a bit of Spanish and Arabic.
When did you first become a mother (year/age)?
Two years ago, on Valentine’s Day I gave birth to my baby boy! I was 33.
Are you a stay-at-home mom or do you work?
I thought I could stay home and look after my child. But then life decided otherwise, and I had to come back to France and search for a job. I found an Executive Assistant position and I can say now that I am happy to be a working mum, even if sometimes it’s a bit tough to manage it all.
Why do you blog/write?
I blog to share and learn, to heal. Writing is my best medicine. It gives me a place to be me and to rejoice with others.
I blog to remember what happens in life, how I overcome challenges, to remember the joy and the happy moments, life’s little treasures.
What makes you unique as a mother?
I am a free spirit. I don’t follow any rules. I find here and there the wisdom I need to raise my kid. I am only unique because my kid is unique. But I am no better than any other mum. Each mum is unique in a way.
I am learning every day. I can say my child is my best teacher. I am rebuilding myself with him, much stronger every day.
What do you view as the challenges of raising a child in today’s world?
Being a single mum is a choice I made because married life was becoming a nightmare. I saved our lives by leaving. But some days I find it challenging to raise my kid on my own. I wish to teach him respect, tolerance, peace and confidence. I wish him to be free and in peace. But the outside world frightens me a lot. There is much craziness around. And I try as much as possible to focus on the beauty of creation and the little things that make a difference, to surround ourselves with love and compassion, empathy and positive people.
How did you find World Moms Blog?
I met Salma when I started blogging. And she was such an inspiration to me that we became friends. She’s been writing for World Moms Blog for a while. My first encounter with the website was through her. And I found there the empowerment I was looking for, a community of women sharing and caring for one another.
These interview questions were answered for World Moms Blog by Marie Kleber. Photo credit to the author.
Marie is from France and is living near Paris, after spending 6 years in Irlande. She is a single mum of one, sharing her time between work, family life and writing, her passion. She already wrote 6 books in her native langage.
She loves reading, photography, meeting friends and sharing life experiences. She blogs about domestic abuse, parenting and poetry @https://mahshiandmarshmallow.wordpress.com
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