Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Relishing Motherhood's First Contest

One of the purposes of this blog is to help me remember to relish my motherhood. So often I get swept up in the to-do list, in the rush-rush of everyday life, in the seemingly endless piles of laundry, grocery lists, and bits of who-knows-what that need to be vacuumed from my 28 year old carpet. And yet, if I let those things define my day, my job, my life, then I've missed the whole point. I am not a stay at home mom because of those things. We could easily outsource those things if I had a full time paying-me-what-I'm-worth kind of job. We have chosen for me to be at home for the sake of our children and our marriage and our family. So why would I let my mind be consumed with the less meaningful aspects of motherhood?

I have found great joy in motherhood in the past year as I have actively sought it. Some days, I have to put "have fun with the kids" on my to-do list so that I remember. Some days I get bogged down in the other stuff and forget to relish. But as I have sought to have fun, to enjoy, to savor, I have shared such sweet moments with my children and our family. Moments that I would have missed if I hadn't slowed down and looked for the opportunities. That is one of the things that I love about homeschooling--the time that we spend learning together is quality time spent together. Every. Single. Day.

Anyhow, in a desire to share the love, I am sponsoring a writing contest.

The Topic:
An Ah-ha Moment of Motherhood. Tell me about a time when something really clicked for you and you saw motherhood in a new way. Or when you felt enlightenment in regards to your role as a mother or how you should handle a situation in your family. Or when you had an epiphany about your own mother. You get the picture. I'll be posting mine in the next couple of days.

The Rules:
Write a new post on the above topic on your blog. Be sure to leave me a comment on this post so that my readers and I can come over to your blog and read it. And please mention the contest and link to this post when you write your contest entry, so that if your readers want to participate, they'll know how to. The contest begins immediately and will go through June 30th.

The Judge:
My darling MIL, Myrna, will be our judge. She is uber-qualified as a mother, an accomplished writer, and has all the qualities one might want in a judge. She does like chocolate if you are into bribes!:)

The Prize:
A CD copy of my 2007 original cookbook, Come to Family Dinner, with over 75 of my favorite recipes for everything from Rustic Rosemary Country Bread to Apple Raspberry Crisp, and includes all of my original cheesecake recipes. I may even bake a goodie to send along with the cookbook--if I'm in a good mood and not too crazy busy, mind you.:)

If you don't have a blog and still wish to participate, please email me your entry. I claim the right to post any such entries on my blog (giving you the credit for writing it, naturally.)

24 comments:

Erin said...

Hi Michal, you probably don't remember me but I lived with Allison (and Rebecca) after her mission. I sometimes "stalk" your blog through the link on hers. I think this is such a fun idea and I plan to post my favorite motherhood story.

Ice Cream said...

Yipee! Something to blog about tomorrow. I'm getting so focused on the baby that it has been hard coming up with my own post ideas. Now, if I can just make my brain work long enough to put something together...

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

Oooo...if I can dredge up an idea or two I just may do this.

If you want to have a linky thing on this post for people to submit their posts to just go to: http://www.blenza.com/linkies/

Unknown said...

I seem to be having a lot of Ah-ha moments lately. Parenting never ceases to bring out the worst and best in me! Myrna--remember that I am the wife of your "favorite" little brother! HEE!HEE!

This will be a fun post!

Ann

Prudy said...

I NEED that cookbook. Yes. Michal, I'm serious! I want to buy the first copy!

Erika said...

I wish I was a good enough writer to participate in this...
I will enjoy others posts though :-)
Can't wait to see you this weekend!

Anonymous said...

I guess you need to be a mother to be in the contest. Oh well.

Love,
Papa

Unknown said...

I have officially entered your "contest." Please see that I have linked my blog entry for today over to your blog!

ENJOY! I really spent some time on this!

And Happy Birthday!

Ann and familY!

Sonja said...

I've been thinking about this ever since I read this post! I can't believe I didn't leave a comment, I thought I did. Well...I think this is a fabulous idea! My wheels are spinning. Eek! I've only got a few days left. :)

TheQueen@TerrorsInTiaras said...

I have been thinking about these A-ha moments since I first read your post. And since I have been busy with vacation, I just now got around to posting my entry to your contest. It is titled "Different is Great"
The link is http://terrorsintiaras.blogspot.com/2008/06/different-is-great.html

Ice Cream said...

Ok, mine is scheduled to post tomorrow. =)

Christine said...

I was going to enter but:
A. I don't really relish motherhood.
B. I already have the cookbook

An Ordinary Mom said...

Here is my post.

It really has taught me to slow down and enjoy motherhood more, especially the stages which involve young ones. Sometimes I get so impatient to move to the next phase were kids are more independent that I forget to really relish the moment I am in.

What a great topic for a contest!

daysease said...

Just learned about your writing contest from Ice Cream Diary. have linked you on my blog
http://perilloparodies.blogspot.com/2008/07/another-and-different-writing-contest.html

thank you for reminding us of what is so important in life, especially life as a mother. have a great day...

Laurel said...

Can I play?

Out of small things...

Laura said...

Hi! I found you through the friend of a friend of a sister-in-law.

I'm not sure this is what you were looking for, but here's my post on motherhood--the comedic yet all-consuming wonder that it is.

http://howethoughts.blogspot.com/2008/06/i-really-dont-know-how-to-tie-this-one.html

Lei said...

well if it's okay i will submit a previously written entry... it's exactly what you are looking for! great idea... came to you from perilloparodies.:)

http://accordingtolei.blogspot.com/2008/05/ha.html

Melanie Dickens said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Melanie Dickens said...

Forgot the link in the first one. I have been lurking here for a while and loved this idea. Here is my entry.

http://lifeisnotafinal.blogspot.com/2008/07/ah-ha.html

A mother heart said...

OK, Michal. I FINALLY have my post--There are angles among us. What a great topic!

daysease said...

http://perilloparodies.blogspot.com/2008/07/jluly-writing-contest-entry-wonder.html
Here is my entry... hope this is the correct place to get it to and not the other updated post announcing date changes.

daysease said...

oops, meant to say, have fun with all the great reads, and have a great day...

Lynell said...

Hey I finally got around to posting my entry. Thanks for the fun contest. It was good for me to put my thoughts into words.

Here is the link
http://jacobsondaly.blogspot.com/

NIblet said...

Hello Michal, from Aubrey's mother. She gave me your email addy and I just sent you an entry - I am not hip enough to have a blog. (Tho I'm being pestered to at least get a Facebook page.)
Thanks for the great blog, I loved reading about your family. If it doesn't arrive Wed evening, email me at nibor44@gmail.com
robin in Mesa AZ