Blog Away the Blues
by Catina Tanner
Just six months ago, I was sinking fast in a quick sand of poop diapers and the everyday frustrations of motherhood and I was too sleep-deprived to pull myself out. I live in Amsterdam, The Netherlands with two little ones and thousands of miles away from my support network of family and friends. I was desperate and needed some way to set my frustrations free. I needed an outlet where I could be honest and try to connect with other mothers in hopes to find support in these challenging times.
It wasn’t until I reached my breaking point that a solution presented itself. I called my best friend from home crying in desperation. She immediately threw me a life raft to help pull myself out of the funk: She suggested continuing with my blog. My blog, I had forgotten all about it. I started it a few years ago, but I never managed to write more than a few posts. I abandoned my writing thinking how could I find time to blog if I didn’t even have time to brush my hair. But a stomach virus, 10 loads of laundry and 100 poop diapers later I decided I had to make time. I had to find a way back into the world of the sane.
So I began blogging and I didn’t hold back. I also decided in order to save myself, I had to be honest in my writing, no matter what the subject. Also through my writing I tried to find the humor in each disastrous situation and embarrassing moment that seem to follow me everywhere.
What a creative freedom you have when blogging, no rules! In the beginning, I took baby steps, posting every other week. I then began to post the blog post links to my Facebook page. That is when the magic happened. My other mommy friends thousands of miles away began to comment on my posts and to my surprise I was not the only crazed insane mommy in the world. Now even mommy colleagues following my blog come up to me in the halls at work and we compare our experiences.
And believe me, now it’s easier to make time for my writing. Some people might have a glass of wine or a warm bath to wind down at the end of a stressful day. Not me, I just grab my laptop and I type my troubles away. I reflect, I complain, I make fun, but always, I am honest. And it feels good. It can take me 10 minutes or a half hour, doesn’t matter as long as I am able to express myself and share with others. Writing has always been a love of mine and now it is my salvation, linking me to my support network and keeping me out of a straitjacket!
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Catina Tanner lives in Amsterdam, The Netherlands with her two small munchkins working part-time for an international court in the media office. She just recently took up writing again and once she gets over her NaNo hangover hopes to finish her first novel and two children's stories this year. The link to her mama blog is www.amsterdammama.blogspot.com.
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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
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by Catina Tanner
Just six months ago, I was sinking fast in a quick sand of poop diapers and the everyday frustrations of motherhood and I was too sleep-deprived to pull myself out. I live in Amsterdam, The Netherlands with two little ones and thousands of miles away from my support network of family and friends. I was desperate and needed some way to set my frustrations free. I needed an outlet where I could be honest and try to connect with other mothers in hopes to find support in these challenging times.
It wasn’t until I reached my breaking point that a solution presented itself. I called my best friend from home crying in desperation. She immediately threw me a life raft to help pull myself out of the funk: She suggested continuing with my blog. My blog, I had forgotten all about it. I started it a few years ago, but I never managed to write more than a few posts. I abandoned my writing thinking how could I find time to blog if I didn’t even have time to brush my hair. But a stomach virus, 10 loads of laundry and 100 poop diapers later I decided I had to make time. I had to find a way back into the world of the sane.
So I began blogging and I didn’t hold back. I also decided in order to save myself, I had to be honest in my writing, no matter what the subject. Also through my writing I tried to find the humor in each disastrous situation and embarrassing moment that seem to follow me everywhere.
What a creative freedom you have when blogging, no rules! In the beginning, I took baby steps, posting every other week. I then began to post the blog post links to my Facebook page. That is when the magic happened. My other mommy friends thousands of miles away began to comment on my posts and to my surprise I was not the only crazed insane mommy in the world. Now even mommy colleagues following my blog come up to me in the halls at work and we compare our experiences.
And believe me, now it’s easier to make time for my writing. Some people might have a glass of wine or a warm bath to wind down at the end of a stressful day. Not me, I just grab my laptop and I type my troubles away. I reflect, I complain, I make fun, but always, I am honest. And it feels good. It can take me 10 minutes or a half hour, doesn’t matter as long as I am able to express myself and share with others. Writing has always been a love of mine and now it is my salvation, linking me to my support network and keeping me out of a straitjacket!
* * *
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
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Catina: I think this is great. I am a stay-at-home mom of a 15-month old darling girl, and I am trying to write and edit (freelance) in the middle of it all .It ain't easy and I only live 7 minutes from my family. I applaud you for using your writing to turn your attitude around. I'm sure many mothers could learn from this!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the support Margo! I think I would still be in constant tears if i hadn't re-discovered writing. Good luck with juggling the freelancing and being mommy. I am not so brave yet, but I hope one day I will have the courage.
ReplyDeleteI recently moved to the UK from Ohio--though I had lived in the UK as a newlywed, we moved to the States and stayed for 13 years. Now, we have a full household plus two kids and it's a whole new ballgame. I've been blogging about the transition although I try to be more upbeat than I actually feel on my blog, as my family reads it and they worry too much! Good luck with your writing--and I'll be following your blog.
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