I know a reasonable number of my readers (which are known to me at least!) are moms. As I'm rather consumed with my latest project, and made some progress on it today, I'm going to throw this out there and ask for feedback.
The project is this ... a website for moms, talking about "What momhood does to womanhood ... the real stories". The site is up but very much under construction, and has 2 basic parts. The first is my "Sane Mom's Sanity Checklist" with the things that are key to my sanity, and I'm betting to the sanity of most moms I know. The part I've been stewing about is the discussion forums, which I hope will be the meat of the site. I wanted to pose a bunch of questions to start the discussion, and wrote a first draft of them today.
So, if you saw the following list of categories/questions, would you be at all intrigued? Inspired to respond? Want to yawn or growl or hurl? Please be as honest as you can ... any feedback appreciated. Many thanks :) (and of course this list isn't remotely complete, but is a reasonable start.)
Beginnings:
- How did you feel about getting pregnant?
- What were your fears about becoming a mom?
- When did you decide you wanted to be a mom? Or did you never want to?
- What kind of mom did you expect to be?
- What was your birth experience like?
- How did birth change you?
Learnings:
- How has motherhood changed you? (vague, I know)
- What did you give up to become a mom? Do you still miss it?
- What's "on hold" in your life, and how often do you think about it?
- What epiphanies have you had surrounding motherhood?
- What do you say to women on the brink of momhood?
- What do you wish you'd been told before you became a mom?
Copings:
- Do you take time alone? How?
- Do you take good care of yourself?
- How do you 'treat' yourself?
- What are you "just tolerating" until ...
Feelings:
- Do you guilt yourself? About what?
- What's happened to how you express your emotions?
- Has your personality changed?
- How good of a mom are you (by your own standards)?
- Do you compare yourself to a standard?
- Where do your ideas of how to parent come from?
- How do you feel about your body?
- Do you feel valued for your work as a mom?
- How has motherhood empowered you in other areas?
Relatings:
- What's happened to your friendships since you had kids?
- Who are your mom role models? Who do you admire?
- What does your partner think about your body post-baby?
- What's happened to your sex life?
- How are you treated differently since you became a mom?
- Who do you feel unjudged by when it comes to your parenting?
- Do you feel judged by other moms?
Ventings:
- What did you never expect to have to do?
- What did you never think you'd hear?
- How have you been humiliated?
- How have you been embarrassed?
Labelings:
- How do you label yourself?
- How do your friends label you?
- How do you feel when you're called a mom by someone other than your own kids?
- Do you feel you've lost a valued label since becoming a mom? Lost status?
- Do you feel devalued as a woman?
- Are you empowered as a woman?
- What's happened to your marketability as an employee?
- Do you struggle with your identity? Have you lost it somewhere in the shuffle?
Dreamings:
- What do you really want to do that you're not?
- What are you passionate about?
- What 'someday' projects are in your head?
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Thanks! And if this doesn't remotely relate to you, my apologies ... regular programming will return soon :)