I know that this is a blog about moms and being moms (and this is my first post)…. but this is a story of me, before I was a mom or a wife, while I was still just my mother’s daughter.
It was the worst day in my life, 10 years ago, on September 11, 2001. There was the worst attack on US soil!
I was at work that morning, in the World Trade Center (building #4, which was one of the smaller buildings along the edge of the Twin Towers). (more…)
It is hard to believe that ten years have passed since our nation was changed forever by an act of terror that claimed the lives of 2976 people. Innocent people, who woke up that day to go to work, attend a meeting, fly on a plane or bravely risk their lives to help the injured and the trapped. Their lives were cut short, and their family and friends will forever be affected by that tragic day in American history.
Most of the world experienced 9/11 through a television. For those of us that were in New York City that day, we had a front row seat to one of the most awful things imaginable.
In recognition of the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001, we are starting this week’s travel itinerary a day earlier than usual. Later on today, we will hear from Jennifer D’Ambrosio, who was in Lower Manhattan on the fateful day and walked through the World Trade Centre doors before the towers were hit.
On Monday, we will have another commemorative post, this one from Maman Aya of New York City. She writes a heart-stopping post about her escape from danger that day, and of witnessing the flight of the second plane into the tower.
On Tuesday, we head to Washington D.C., where Tara B. describes a trip to the movies! Come read her post about her five-year-old’s very first experience with the big screen!
On Wednesday, we head north of the border to Canada, where Multitasking Mumma provides some very sound advice for her child. We hope her daughter will follow these gems of wisdom as she moves through life!
On Thursday we stay in Canada to hear from Kirsten Doyle, who reflects on how she made the transition from a little girl who used to break dolls into a Mom who actually knows how to pretend she knows what she’s doing some of the time!
On Friday Eva Fannon leads us in the Friday Question. Be sure to check it out and chime in with your answers!
In writer interviews, we hear from veteran Asta Burrows of Norway on Tuesday, and new to World Moms Blog, Carri Brown of California, USA!
Many of our Moms have gone through rites of parenting passage recently as they’ve sent their kids off to school for the first time. We hope that these kids – and their parents – have survived and are settling into their new routines!
And of course, our thoughts go out to all of the victims of 9/11 and their families. As we commemorate this day, we wish you peace and strength.
— World Moms Blog
Our World Moms Blog logo was designed by the creative Erica Joyner Designs in Virginia, USA.
When I think of my country, India, I am reminded of a small snippet from the collection of poems” Geetanjali” by the world-famous Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore.
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up
into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason
has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action—
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
And, on August 15th, 1947 India awoke into that freedom. It was born as a nation, perhaps, for the first time. I say, “first time” here because before British colonization, India was a collection of small kingdoms ruled by individual kings, chieftains and tribes. It was never a single large entity as in a country before this time. Then, after the British left, all of India formed into a single whole country, and I am proud to say we still are. (more…)
Purnima Ramakrishnan is an UNCA award winning journalist and the recipient of the fellowship in Journalism by International Reporting Project, John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Her International reports from Brazil are found here . She is also the recipient of the BlogHer '13 International Activist Scholarship Award . She is a Senior Editor at World Moms Blog who writes passionately about social and other causes in India. Her parental journey is documented both here at World Moms Blog and also at her personal Blog, The Alchemist's Blog. She can be reached through this page . She also contributes to Huffington Post . Purnima was once a tech-savvy gal who lived in the corporate world of sleek vehicles and their electronics. She has a Master's degree in Electronics Engineering, but after working for 6 years as a Design Engineer, she decided to quit it all to become a Stay-At-Home-Mom to be with her son! This smart mom was born and raised in India, and she has moved to live in coastal India with her husband, who is a physician, and her son who is in primary grade school. She is a practitioner and trainer of Heartfulness Meditation.
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It is a Saturday morning in January, 2010. The weather is surprisingly mild for the middle of winter, but despite the bright sunshine, I am aware of the horrors that prevail elsewhere in the world. It is about a week since Haiti was ravaged by a devastating earthquake, and I cannot sleep because my mind is filled with the terrible images that I am seeing on the news.
I am sipping coffee and sitting at my laptop checking emails. Nearby, my younger son James, who has just turned four, is playing with a giant pile of Lego and some little plastic people and animals. He appears to be making some kind of village.
I tune out of James’ play, open my Internet browser, and within moments I am in a Facebook-induced trance. It doesn’t last for long: something about the way James is playing makes me snap back to reality and pay closer attention to what he’s doing. What I see makes my heart stand still. (more…)
Kirsten Doyle was born in South Africa. After completing university, she drifted for a while and finally washed up in Canada in 2000. She is Mom to two boys who have reached the stage of eating everything in sight (but still remaining skinny). Kirsten was a computer programmer for a while before migrating into I.T. project management. Eventually she tossed in the corporate life entirely in order to be a self-employed writer and editor. She is now living her best life writing about mental health and addictions, and posting videos to two YouTube channels. When Kirsten is not wrestling with her kids or writing up a storm, she can be seen on Toronto's streets putting many miles onto her running shoes. Every year, she runs a half-marathon to benefit children with autism, inspired by her older son who lives life on the autism spectrum. Final piece of information: Kirsten is lucky enough to be married to the funniest guy in the world. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Be sure to check out her YouTube channels at My Gen X Life and Word Salad With Coffee!
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