Blogging My Way to Asheville

I am throwing my hat into the ring (very last minute, as a matter of fact) to win a ticket to the Type-A-Mom conference.

I started my blog in late January of this year.  I had been dreaming about starting a blog for several years, but I could never get my head around doing much else.  At the time, I had two children born nineteen months apart and was working three days a week.  Had I known then what I know now about blogging, I would have found the time.  Blogging has served as a type of therapy for me, without having to lie on a couch in a doctor’s office and pay loads of money.  It has me thinking about new skills, ideas, technology and it’s allowing me to look at myself and life from a new angle.

After I had my first child, I courageously quit my full-time job.  I wanted to throw my heart and soul into the child that I had brought into this world.  And I did.  I breastfed her until the age of one, took her to mommy and me yoga, music class, joined a playgroup and actually enjoyed it…for a short time, at least.  When I got pregnant when she was 10 months old, I wasn’t ready.  My identity was thrown to the winds.  Not only did I have two children crying at the same time, but I was changing diapers every five minutes.  The problem was that no one in my community could relate or understand.  At playgroup, the women discussed cutting toe nails, breastfeeding versus formula, renovating their homes.  I couldn’t relate to the conversation.  Motherhood hadn’t come as natural to me.  I felt very isolated and somewhat odd for feeling the way I felt.  I had resented my second child the whole time he was in my belly, but who could I tell that to.

So, along came the blog many years later.  By the time I started blogging, my kids were ages 5 and 7.  I started blogging for my own site, TheCultureMom.com, as well as other blogs, including the now defunct NewYorkCityMoms.com,  TravelingMom.com and AChildGrows.com.   On my own blog, I write about my passion: culture.  I have always been a big traveler, an avid theater goer, a film buff, a reader.  I have made an effort to bring what I love into the lives of my children and enjoy sharing my experiences with my readers.  As a result, my world has opened up.  It has connected me with women who feel the same way about motherhood as I do.  Women I can be honest with about my shifting identity, striking a balance, coping with motherhood and trying to be the best person I can be.  I adore my children, don’t get me wrong.  Sometimes I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders, and blogging is an avenue for me to share my frustrations and find solutions.  I have met a group of amazing New York City bloggers, and bloggers all over the country, that I can connect to in more ways than I ever dreamed.

When I started, I didn’t know the first thing about blogging.  In the short amount of time that I have been blogging, not only have my technical skills improved, but I have plugged back into my creative juices.  Writing about the things I care about most has been a blessing and I am enjoying every minute.  Blogging has been transformative, life-changing.

But why do I really want to go to Type-A?

• To learn.
• To become a better blogger.
• To share this experience with the bloggers I have come to grow to love and learn from them.
• To take my passion to a new level.

I would love to attend a conference with small sessions where I can ask questions and focus on the areas that I need to gain strength in.  The Type- A-Conference is calling my name.  I can hear it all the way from New York.

Disclaimer: This blog post is an entry into a contest to win a ticket to the Type-A-Mom conference.