So I’ve added a new FAVORITE to my mommy list:
I am just now touching the surface of this website, and all of the many branches of information it offers (apps, retreats, Learning Circle, etc.) but I can tell right now that I am a mom who will benefit from this website.
(Preface: This entry is about being a mom. I am also a wife, which is very important to me and I hope to write on that someday soon. I don’t want to suggest, from my abundant mentioning’s of motherhood, that being a wife is any less important than being a mom.)
First of all there are hundreds of websites and information sources out there for moms. It’s unbelievable how much information there on every aspect of mothering. It’s great. But it’s also overwhelming. And when it comes down to it at the end of the day when I go home to Bria most of that information goes out the window of my mind while I just try to play/feed/burp/nap her. When people say “there is no manual for parenting” they are very right, but there are many many tools one can utilize. But:
“Our focus is on strengthening mothers as women and as people who have chosen to make motherhood a primary focus in their lives. Unlike most motherhood-related sites, we don’t talk about cooking, shopping, fashion, cleaning, decorating, or potty-training. Instead of focusing on how to look, what to buy and how to react to the problems that pop up in our lives as mothers, our website focuses on pro-active ideas that will help us BECOME who we really want to be as mothers and as women.” –Power of Moms website
And I love this outlook. I work full time. I’m a full time wife. I love to cook. I love to craft. I do a lot of things. But being a mom is definitely a primary focus of my life. Whether I work the rest of my life or eventually leave the corporate world to be a stay at home mom, being Brianna’s mom is my focus. As POM suggests, I want to be a deliberate mother.
But anyway,
One thing I have gathered from the website is the idea and opportunity to create a Learning Circle.
A Learning Circle is:
- part girls’ night out (with a meaningful purpose – in addition to having a great time)
- part book group (with a lot less pages to read…yep, you can complete the reading for each month in about 30 minutes)
- part support group (we all need more opportunities to learn from, encourage, and even sometimes commiserate with other moms)
- part motherhood course (because you deserve a monthly class to help you grow yourself, build your fellow mothers, and shape the future that starts right in your own home)
And yes, I want to start a Learning Circle.
I want to invite moms who may be interested in joining this learning circle to read through the Power of Mom’s website link I posted above. Read what it’s about and then contact me, letting me know you’re interested. I will be sending out invites as soon as I get more established in life in general, so that I can predict a starting date. I can’t say that this learning circle will begin before spring or summer, but that should be enough time for most moms to determine whether or not they would like to participate.
My goals for the Learning Circle are:
-Meet monthly. At my house (once we move into a house with more space).
-Eat monthly. Create a schedule of who will bring what food and when.
-Communicate always. Set up a Facebook group/email string/text string so that we can share pictures and mom-relative information all the time.
-Become accountable. If we hold each other accountable we will truly make this Learning Circle work.
-Attend mom-related retreats (perhaps down the road when we are more available as moms. I know with a 5 month old going out of town without her might be completely out of the picture).
-Create a support group of moms that can rely on each other and whom we can turn to for advice and friendship.
-Possibly write articles and submit them to the Power of Mom’s website. I want to help our little group but would love to help the rest of the moms out there too.
What consider before becoming a part of this Learning Circle:
-We will meet once a month, 2-3 hrs each time.
-We will meet to RELAX, eat, discuss, and enjoy each other’s company. Cell phone’s welcomed but only to use in emergencies.
-We will need to agree to help with food. I want everyone to be fed when they come but I can’t do all the cooking myself.
-Each person will need to pay $20 dues to get the monthly installments to be discussed.
I can’t wait to start inviting moms to join this Learning Circle. I hope I, and many of you, can get a lot out of this type of group and can become the best mothers we possibly can be through the program.
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