The Mommy Blogger Mantra

We tell women’s stories.

We speak with vulnerability, sarcasm, levity, courage,

honesty, humor, subtlety, and frankness.

Our writing is complex, painful, simple, beautiful, biting, benign, and powerful. 

We bare our souls, share our favorite recipes, comment on life with biting wit,

try out  new products, take on parenting challenges, and fess up to our failings.

 

We create complex, human communities filled with deep connections

and forged friendships.

We advocate, promote, encourage, educate, memorialize, denounce,

connect and forget how to disconnect.

We persevere despite critics and trolls.

 

As our voices become amplified and our stories gain traction,

some seek to silence, dismiss, undermine and malign. 

 

They hit us with age-old criticisms of women;

Our concerns are trifling, our interests small, our voices inconsistent. 

We are responsible for mommy wars, prone to over-sensitivity, 

proponents of negativity, and victims of political correctness. 

 

We won’t make ourselves small to make others comfortable. 

We will stop apologizing for taking up intellectual space

or for distracting from “serious issues.”

We will affirm women’s stories and promote our posts with confidence.

 

We are magnifying women’s voices and tearing down taboos.

We laugh over our failings, commiserate over the  mundane, 

put mom in the picture, and commemorate the incredible.

 

We won’t “calm down” or “relax.”

We refuse to take ourselves less seriously or write to a “broader” audience.

We will continue to find our voices through blogging and share authentic experiences.

We will treat women’s diverse interests with the respect they deserve.

 

We will remain unapologetic-ally passionate and unabashedly determined.

Our writings are multi-faceted; silly, serious, frivolous, and inspiring.

Our blogs will be as varied as our readers.

 

When we’re handed a box labeled “Mommy Blogger,” 

we’ll break down cardboard walls of criticism, condescension, and stereotypes

too weak to contain us.

Dedicated to the amazing women who have positively impacted my life through blogging.