Home is Where the Mom Is; A Christian Mom's Guide: Beginning at the Beginning...A Little about my Family

Monday, August 15, 2011

Beginning at the Beginning...A Little about my Family

Let’s begin at the beginning!

My (now) husband and I became high-school sweethearts after meeting in band in the early 1980’s. At the time I never dreamed that years later our children would attend the same school, even having some of the same teachers we did—and some of their teachers were friends we’d gone to school with!

While Tim went to college in Colorado, I attended nursing school in Nebraska. We got married the summer after I graduated. I worked as a nurse in various areas for several years, but was blessed to have a husband who agreed that for our family it was best that I stayed home with our kids. I’d always dreamed of being (in no particular order) a nurse, a writer, and a mom. I became a nurse, and then the mom to Cody, now 19 years old and a sophomore in college, and Morgan, now 17 and a senior in high school.

When Cody and Morgan were toddlers, I was asked to be on the steering committee for the first MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) group started in our area. Being a MOPS member was one of the best things I’ve ever done—it was so nice to get together with other moms every month for fellowship and sharing. As a fairly new mom I often wondered if other moms faced the same trials and troubles as I did, and it was a relief to find that I wasn’t alone in my experiences (with one exception; no one else ever admitted to dropping a coconut on her child’s head…more about that in another post).

While I was in MOPS I made friends that I know now will be life-long friends! I received encouragement and inspiration from other moms during those sometimes frustrating, trying days as the mother of a young child.

It was also during MOPS years that I started writing Home is Where the Mom Is; A Christian Mom’s Guide to Caring for Herself, Her Family, and Her Home (I’ll tell you more about that process in another post, too!) fulfilling my dream of becoming a writer.

And now I’m at a different stage in life, with one child in college and the other headed there in just a year (I’m not thinking about that too much…while I’m happy she will be pursuing her dreams, it’s hard to believe my at-home mothering days are almost over).

I’ve found, however, that I’ve become friends with women who are in the beginning years of their mothering. It’s so fun to see their joy and excitement as they are with their children. I find myself wanting to encourage them and share my “wisdom”—but only if and when asked! I want to encourage other moms just as I was encouraged when I was a young(er) mom.

And of course I have friends who are also sending their kids off to college, or will be doing so shortly. As well as asking ourselves where the years went, we’re asking ourselves if we’ve taught our kids everything they need to know, what we should teach them before they go…and how our mothering role has changed.

When I started writing Home is Where the Mom Is, there was no such thing as blogging—at least not that I was aware of. I’m excited to use this blog to share encouragement with moms of younger children, and also to share the experiences of moms with older children. I plan to have guest posters, and look forward to hearing from readers about what issues you would like to see covered. Please let me know in the comments, or e-mail me at shelly@shellyburke.net, what you would like to see in this blog!

I will leave you with several pictures of my family, with more to come!