Mum stories

New Year, New Direction.

Jo Caddy

In my post last week I talked about making New Years Resolutions.  Although I’ve never been one to make them in the past, I decided to go in a new direction and set some goals for the year ahead. I set 5 goals for my family life and 5 goals for my personal growth and development. The latter 5 were:

  1. Increase blog posts to a minimum of twice per week.
  2. Open an online shop to increase household funds so that saving for a home will be more achievable.
  3. Change direction of Mum Life Stories blog to make it more inclusive.
  4. Finish writing at least one novel.
  5. Find a balance between work and family life.

Straight up, you can see number 1 isn’t happening yet as it’s been a week since my last post. I still have 51 weeks left though so I’m optimistic, especially since I’ve at least gotten the ball rolling on number 2, quite proud of myself I must say (she grins from ear to ear), but as promised it’s number 3 that I want to talk to you about.

 

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Confession Time

I’ll be honest, when I first began this blog, I was looking for a way to get an audience for my writing. I loved writing fiction and had been getting a lot of positive feedback, but was failing miserably to win any short story competitions (not from lack of serious effort) apart from one little micro story competition on Sweek. I called out for writers, etc to submit stories and ran Facebook ads to get their attention but only got a couple of submissions. I really wanted the blog to incorporate other writers and stories about Mums that would inspire my readers but I seemed to be hitting a dead end. I was starting to struggle to come up with ideas for posts and getting time to write fiction was proving difficult so I was seriously beginning to worry that I would have to give up on the blog all together. 

Then, I was scrolling through Instagram, looking at various posts from other mums talking about the raw realities of motherhood and trying to balance this chaos with other aspects of life like extended family, hobbies, careers, business’ etc etc. Some of these women were very successful in their endeavours, some simply making a living, some making a lot of money, some famous and some just appearing to be living the ultimate happy life, but after reading their stories it was plain to see that they were constantly working and constantly exhausted like every other mother out there. I realised that we are all the same, all doing our best to get by and to find balance in what needs to be done and what we want to do. The only difference is that some women are living their dreams and others are stuck, not sure of where to start on the road to living their dreams, I was!

I realised that although there are a lot of women out there who love fiction (who wouldn’t? I mean it’s an escape from reality isn’t it?), its not that motivational when it comes to real life and offers no real tangible advice or encouragement on how to chase your dreams, or how to find balance in your life or how to dig down and find the courage for these things.

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New Direction

So after this epiphany of sorts I decided that the most productive, helpful course of action was to ease up (but only a little) on the fiction and bring more real, true-to-life stories about real mums your way. Once a month I will be sharing a story with you based on interview questions with 1 amazing mum who’s fought against the odds, overcome obstacles, chased her dreams, or just plain survived what life has thrown her way.

I hope and pray that you will all find inspiration and encouragement to keep going, fighting the good fight, enjoying your life and circumstances and chasing your own dreams.

Now, my call to action.

A lot of you out there, if not all of you, have amazing stories to tell but do not consider yourselves to be writers of any description. I am sure this is not true but I will humour you and offer my writing skills to tell your valuable story. I have one awesome story underway already (read here) but am looking for more wonderful women LIKE YOU, to interview for upcoming stories. 

If you’ve ever thought to yourself “Man, they could write a book about my life” or “Geez my life would make a great movie” then I’d love to hear from you. I need inspirational stories about how you’ve overcome an obstacle, survived a drama/tragedy, reached your goals and/or dreams, contributed to the world and/or society, found balance in your life or just simply found a way to enjoy all that you have despite your circumstances, etc.

If you have a story to tell and would love to be featured on my blog in a article written about you by moi, then please send me an email at mumlifestories@gmail.com with your name, country of origin and 100 words or less, briefly outlining your story.

Please read the terms and conditions and indicate in your email that you agree to these terms and conditions.

All mums featured in these stories will have the opportunity to submit for inclusion, any links to websites or social media accounts promoting themselves or their business’. So it’s a win/win. You get promoted and we get an awesome, inspiring story to share with and encourage hundreds (hopefully thousands) of Mums now and in the Future. 

Can’t wait to share these amazing Mum Life Stories with you soon!

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25 MumLife Quotes

Jo Caddy

There are so many things to be said about Mums and Motherhood, so many stories and fun anecdotes about the highs and lows of life with and as Mothers. Words alone could not express the depth of Love Mothers have for their children and vice versa but there are many who have tried to do just that. We thought it would be fun to gather 25 quotes on Mothers and Motherhood to share with you, so we can all appreciate together, the fantastic contribution that these women make in all our lives.

 

“But there’s a story behind everything. How a picture got on a wall. How a scar got on your face. Sometimes the stories are simple, and sometimes they are hard and heartbreaking. But behind all your stories is always your mother’s story, because hers is where yours begins.” ~ Mitch Albom (For one more day)

“The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” ~ Theodore Hesburgh

“The natural state of motherhood is unselfishness. When you become a mother, you are no longer the center of your own universe. You relinquish that position to your children.” ~ Jessica Lange

“The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.” ~ Honore de Balzac

“The influence of a mother upon the lives of her children cannot be measured. They know and absorb her example and attitudes when it comes to questions of honesty, temperance, kindness, and industry.” ~ Billy Graham

“No man succeeds without a good woman behind him. Wife or mother, if it is both, he is twice blessed indeed.” ~ Godfrey Winn

“The fastest way to break the cycle of perfectionism and become a fearless mother is to give up the idea of doing it perfectly – indeed to embrace uncertainty and imperfection.” ~ Arianna Huffington

“To be a mother you must be strong. Even if you don’t feel it, you have to pretend.” ~ Sade Adu

“When I was a child, my mother said to me, ‘If you become a soldier, you’ll be a general. If you become a monk, you’ll end up as the Pope.’ Instead, I became a painter and wound up as Picasso.” ~ Pablo Picasso

“A mother is a woman who shows you the light when you just see the dark.” ~ Grimaldos Robin

“Mothers never retire, no matter how old her children are she is always a Mom, always willing to encourage and help her children in any way she can!” ~ Catherine Pulsifer

“Mother-love is the great, surging, divine current that plays forever through humanity.” ~ Elbert Hubbard 

“Many of us who are mothers already know that being a mother is the toughest job there is. In a single day you can travel from the depths of frustration to the pinnacle of elation!” ~ June Cotner

“Giving grace to yourself is never more important than when you become a mother.” ~ Whitney Meade, The Balance Beam

“The truth is that no matter how old we are, as long as our mothers are alive, we want our mother. And it’s a very powerful relationship if it’s healthy.” ~ Goldie Hawn

“God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers.” ~ Rudyard Kipling

“In a child’s eyes, a mother is a goddess. She can be glorious or terrible, benevolent or filled with wrath, but she commands love either way. I am convinced that this is the greatest power in the universe.” ~ N.K. Jemisin

“Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.” ~ Barbara Kingsolver

“A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.” ~ Washington Irving

“Behind every famous and influential person there is a driving force and in many cases this driving force is the unfailing love and support of their mothers.” ~ Lisa Valentine 

“The truth is, every son raised by a single mom is pretty much born married. I don’t know, but until your mom dies it seems like all the other women in your life can never be more than just your mistress.” ~ Chuck Palahniuk

“Being a mother is an attitude, not a biological relation.” ~ Robert A. Heinlein, Have Space Suit—Will Travel

 “Mother’s love is bliss, is peace, it need not be acquired, it need not be deserved. If it is there, it is like a blessing; if it is not there it is as if all the beauty had gone out of life.” ~ Erich Fromm

“He didn’t realize that love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark.” 
~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

 “Because I feel that, in the Heavens above / The angels, whispering to one another, / Can find, among their burning terms of love / None so devotional as that of ‘Mother’” ~ Edgar Allen Poe