joy of nine9

When and why did you start blogging?

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I started blogging in August 2006, as I transitioned from a summer job after university to my first full-time, permanent position as an editor for the Alberta government. Both were office jobs and I was feeling frustrated that I had finished my English degree, but I was no closer to writing books as I’d always planned to do.

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Starting a blog gave me a place to put my writing and (I hoped!) an audience to read what I wrote. Since then, the blog has slowly evolved and grown as I have until it is now my part-time work-at-home job. In a few weeks, I’m actually throwing a big online party along with five other bloggers to celebrate our blogging anniversaries (see http://thekoalamom.com/2015/07/save-the-date-august-bloggers-fete-and-giveaway/ for more details!).

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What would you say are your favorite topics to write about?

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That’s one thing I’ve kinda always struggled with. I don’t have a niche blog; I write about a little bit of everything. Most of it involves being a mom (and so recently I changed my blog name from “The Koala Bear Writer” to “The Koala Mom” to reflect that http://thekoalamom.com/2015/07/why-i-changed-my-blog-name/).

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As a mom, I’ve realized how important it is to have other moms around you, who support and encourage you in what you do. Being a mom is the best job I’ve ever had, but at the same time, it can be exhausting. I’m at home by myself most days and because I’m an introvert, I don’t always remember to call a friend or plan a play date (unless my 7-year-old asks me). When I do that, I always feel so refreshed and encouraged and I’m a much better mom!

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So on my blog, I write for other moms about the ups and downs of being a mom and try to foster the same sort of encouragement and inspiration online.

How does your faith influence how you parent?

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Faith is, I hope, the environment of our home—an integral part of who we are. I grew up in a Christian home where we prayed regularly, went to church every Sunday, read our Bibles, etc, so I feel like I’ve always been a Christian. I’ve never struggled with questions of faith, other than my conversion to Catholicism just before I got married. We use a Catholic curriculum in our homeschool, listen to saint stories while we’re driving around the city, and try to make it to weekday Mass when we can. I look to many of the saints for inspiration as a parent, especially to Mary. I love the Church’s teachings about marriage and family and try to learn more and apply that to our lives.

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How do you feel about being a mother?

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I love being a mother. I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be a mom and to have lots of kids, and I’m so glad I found a man who supports me in that. Motherhood has been a bit of an up-and-down journey for me, as I share in the book, just as my husband has also had an up-and-down journey to his current career, but I have always found myself happiest when I am being a mom and a homemaker. The daily tasks of a mom can be monotonous and tough at times http://thekoalamom.com/2015/07/the-monotony-of-motherhood/, but when I focus on the big picture and look at my girls, I see what an important job I’m doing and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

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Do you feel counter-cultural? What are the positive and negative reactions you have encountered from society about having three kids, your beliefs, and parenting style?

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Ha. Yes. When we got married, we mentioned to a few people that we wanted a big family and got told, “Wait until you have your first child; then you’ll change your mind.” I stopped talking about wanting lots of kids, but I never changed my mind. Now we are expecting number four and I often get the comment, “Oh, wow, you’re busy” or something about the fact that we have three girls. (It was very refreshing to be at a Catholic conference this summer where the reaction to our pregnancy news was “Congrats! That’s awesome!” from many friends who already have three plus kids.) We both joined the Church as adults, so our families aren’t Catholic, but my husband’s parents have been very supportive of us, which means a lot. I’m guilty of avoiding eye contact at the grocery story or giving short answers like “Yes” when strangers comment on our big family (because I don’t like negativity), when I should probably engage them in conversation and share what a joy my daughters are or how much I appreciate the fact that they play so well together and can be such good friends to each other.

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How did you approach your selections for this anthology- what is your theme, your main message?

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When a friend first emailed me last summer to say that a friend of hers was working on this anthology, I thought “great idea” and quickly combed through my writing files for something to submit. I sent in a couple small poems and a short essay I had written celebrating motherhood’s small moments, and then I forgot about the anthology.

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Then we moved to Vancouver in January http://thekoalamom.com/2015/01/7-quick-takes-vancouver-bc/ and I met Anna through a mutual friend and she realized that we were both contributing to the anthology. In chatting with Anna about her contribution to the piece, I decided I had more to say, and so I sat down and wrote my longer essay about my journey to motherhood. That piece, I hope, shares some of my struggles with society’s pressures to be “more” than a mom or something other than “just” a mom.

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I love Anna’s idea of being Love Rebels in a culture that doesn’t support moms. Because of society’s attitude, in general, I think it is so important that we as moms surround ourselves with other moms who support and encourage us. And I hope in this little anthology that the five of us can be that voice of encouragement to today’s moms.

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