Why I have turned to blogging

Before I had my first child, I read everything I could find about pregnancy.  Once she was born, my thirst for knowledge continued and I subscribed to magazines, read more books, joined “mommy” organizations to share information and develop a network of people to support me in this uncharted terrain. 

This served me well.  And by the time my second child was born, I had become a pro at developing these connections.  When my daughter entered elementary school, I dove in with all the excitement of discovering further the mysteries of this journey called parenthood.

Soon I became a Girl Scout leader (although I had never been a Girl Scout), I became “the” book fair person and thoroughly enjoyed bringing the joy of reading to these young children, I became a substitute teacher in the elementary schools, and it wasn’t long before I found myself as first a Vice-President and then President of the PTA. 

But once my daughter entered middle school, it almost seemed like someone put up a sign in front of me that said, “The train stops here!”  I still went to PTA meetings and now ran book fairs in the middle school.  I increased the sales of books and the profit for the MS/HS PTA so much that they allowed me to use some of the profit to bring education programs that I thought would enhance the history program at the school.  I brought in a pilot from WWII whose exciting story brought history to life for the students, as well as a Civil War re-enactor who helped the children understand the hardships that the soldiers’ faced when traveling and fighting over long distances for years at a time in the 1800s. 

Although I still got some satisfaction from these ventures, I felt like I was losing my support system.  The moms who had stayed home to raise their children, were now going back to work.  My daughter was making new friends and, although I always introduced myself to the new parents, the introductions were often as far as our connection went.  Soon the kids were communicating through cell phones and the Internet and my contact with her world diminished link by link. 

When I had questions about how to support her through the turbulent middle years, I had a much smaller network of friends to rely on.  There were a few books and movies on teen drama that helped to open conversations with my daughter.  But at the same time, technology was changing at a rapid rate and with it the “blueprint” of how to get through these difficult years became continually outdated.   I still had lunch dates, now and then, with parents whom I had met while she was in pre-school.  Because each of our girls had moved on into different social groups, these lunches became my lifeline to understanding the “big picture” or anything beyond my daughter’s personal experiences.  It helped me put things together so that I could be in a better position to advise her through the emotional changes and demands of those early teen years.

One day, one of these lunch-date friends told me that the school was starting a parenting of teens class in the evenings and asked if I would go with her.  I signed up and was thrilled to feel back in my element.  Here was the information I had been craving!  The class was informative and helpful but limited in time.  As it neared the end of the course, other parents who had recognized my passion for the subject, asked me to continue the discussion beyond the end of the term.  So I met with the teachers of the class and gathered information and went on to developing material that worked for our group.  We met in the library (the same one where my daughter had taken possession of all of those stuffed animals) and through posters I had created, and scenarios I had devised, we tried to navigate the turbulent waters of uncertainty together.  I didn’t have the confidence though to lead without an expert in the field at my side.  So I tried over and over to find someone to join us.  But unfortunately, I failed in this effort. 

As the following years passed, I continued my efforts to establish a parenting of tweens and teens help group.  Again and again I found myself stopped by either a lack of interest on the part of the authorities and/or a lack of funding.  When my daughter was 15 and my son was 10 (and now I had two in those terrible tween/teen years), I decided to write a book.  I had always wanted to write a book my entire life, but now I knew what I needed to write about.  I remember telling my daughter about my plans and explaining to her that I could spend years writing this book, it would take time away from my family and the daily chores that I needed to perform in order to keep our household going, and that it could all be for nothing because I knew the chances of getting it published where almost nil.  My sweet, wonderful teenage daughter turned to me and said, “Then write it for me mom.”  How could I argue with that!  So I wrote it.  A young adult novel filled with history, mystery, love and heartache, and a guide for surviving those years in spite of dysfunctional families and social obstacles. 

Now the book is done and I am writing its sequel.  But in order to get it “out there” in front of literary agents and publishers, I need to establish an interested audience.  So that is where you come in . . . if you are interested in the information I have garnered over the past years, then please become a member of this blog.  I promise I will entertain you, and console you, and learn from you.  Please join me on this next adventure in my life.