Welcome to the Club
So glad you decided to join us!
Hello, and welcome to Mama Unhinged! If you are reading this, it means I have finally taken a leap of faith and published my first blog. It has been five-ish years in the making and was born out of necessity for my sanity. Upfront and honest out of the gate... NO freakin' clue what I am doing, so please bear with me, it's a work in progress (kinda like me!).
Have you ever been in THAT place?? You know, the one where you are feeling like a failure, struggling to find the good, and quite honestly hating life. That was me (more than once!). One morning, (many years ago now!) I woke up and thought to myself, perhaps I need an outlet... one that will allow me to share (aka vent) my thoughts and feelings and connect with other like-minded individuals. I don’t know about you, but I happen to find talking to people who “get it” very therapeutic. Not gonna lie, I take great comfort in knowing that other people’s lives suck at times, too. Haha!
Mama Unhinged will be a two-way street. A desire to help others, but also, myself. I want to share MY reality in hopes of getting other moms to open up and feel comfortable sharing theirs. To know they are not alone, even though it often feels that way. I want to dispel the myths, smother the false ideals, and present the raw, honest truths of being a mom. In other words, I'm looking to KEEP IT REAL!
I am hopeful, as a reader, that you can understand and appreciate where I am coming from. I want to be clear that it has absolutely nothing to do with wanting to stay "hidden." I am not ashamed or embarassed in any way. I can assure you that remaining anonymous for the time being will in no way compromise the authenticity of my blog. Having a face to put with the name (in this case "mama") is always nice, but I don't think it is essential for getting to know me or connecting with me. While there may not be photos of me or my family, I will include real-life photos that will give you glimpses into my world. These photos, combined with my stories, should foster a sense of connection and provide proof that I am in fact a real human being. The biggest purpose of and goal for my blog is to be real. So much of what you see and read is fake and, well, what’s the point of that? In person, I am very much a “what you see is what you get” girl. My blog will be no different. Everything you see and read will be real and truthful. I assure you, I could not make this s*#! up. I will say though that there are times when my life seems so unreal that if I wasn’t the one living it, I probably wouldn’t believe it!
I want to keep things interesting and entertaining, so not every post will pertain to my life (not for lack of material though!). Some posts will be about topics of interest to me. Others may be informational. Still others will be just for fun. They will include facts, my opinion, and likely some judgement, too. There is no rhyme or reason to the order of my posts, although the first few are intended to set the stage for how mama became unhinged. Will I embellish and exaggerate… certainly! Will I be sarcastic… guaranteed! Am I just some Joe Blow spouting off at the mouth... absolutely not! (although I may spout at times) I draw from experience. I do my research. I get my facts straight. I stay informed. But, I do also say it like it is. No sugar added!
I am a bit of a perfectionist (aka anal) when it comes to certain things in my life and one of those things is writing. I am THAT person. I believe they are endearingly referred to as “grammar police.” A misspelled word… not getting passed me! Incorrect tense or poor sentence structure… I’m on it! That said, I know I will make mistakes in my blog. I am my own worst editor, so I will need to let that go a bit or there will be no blog! There is a quote by Harry S. Truman that I like – “Imperfect action is better than perfect inaction.” It is easy to become paralyzed by perfection and I would say I am guilty of that many times over. So, for the purposes of this blog, I am going to take Harry’s advice and accept the imperfect. I hope you can, too! This, afterall, is not a literary work of art, but rather a casual dialogue so to speak, being shared between myself and other mamas out there.
Of course, as a new blogger, I do wonder, “will anyone read my blog”? I would like to be optimistic and think the answer to that is yes. Will everybody that reads it like it… definitely not. Will some people disagree with what I write… most likely. Will certain people be offended by it… good chance. Am I okay with all of that... 100%. I would never expect it to be all sunshine and roses, that is just not realistic. Everyone is entitled to their own thoughts, beliefs, and opinions. But, my goal is not to please the masses. My blog is being started with a certain collective in mind. It is my hope that these people will understand, appreciate and relate to all that it is about.
If you are still reading this, I apprecate you, and I thank you! This page is the first step toward me, putting myself out there into the universe, which is both terrifying and exhilarating. EEEEKKK!!!!
Cue Anna - “Into the unknown…”
If there is one thing I have learned from being a mom, it is this... life is entirely unpredictable and relentlessly challenging. There are no guarantees. We just have to take it as it comes and figure it out as we go. We will make mistakes. We might have regrets. But, at the end of the day, it is what it is and that is perfectly OK! The best thing for you to do is figure out a way to ...