Whew. I’m still whirling from my return from Blissdom, my first big blogger conference.
I’ve never been so inspired to write and create. I’ve never been so proud to be a mom, a business woman, a working woman, a blogger.
I am so glad that I chose Blissdom as my first blogging conference. There is such a sense of community; a sense of “we’re in this together.” I pretty much did not know a soul when I stepped into that convention center (which is a whole other “Candid Coffee Talk” discussion for this introvert), and yet I felt welcomed, accepted, and befriended.
And holy crap were we spoiled by the sponsors and organizers. So spoiled, in fact, that one of the sponsors offered to ship home a box of our swag for free. You know you’ve been overswagged when you have to ship it home. I write to you now enjoying a cup of Gevalia coffee, wearing a USB drive bracelet, applying honey-infused chapstick, lotioning my hands with Aveeno, downing some PediaLyte, wrapped in a Carnival Cruise Line beach towel, and peering at you through sparkling clean glasses thanks to Care.com’s cleaning kit. Ok, maybe I’m not doing all that, but I could if I wanted, because I have all those things.
I’d love to be able to tell you what my main takeaway from the conference was, but I can’t. It’s not because I don’t know, but because I have so many. I’m sure they will be fueling me for many “Coffee Talks,” but for today, I will focus on one.
One phrase really resonated with me during the closing key note speech by Jon Acuff: Being a mom is enough.
Some of you might mis-read that and think that it’s implying that if you are a mom, you should focus solely on that and pursue nothing else. But that, of course, would be a bit odd since I just came from a conference that applauds and encourages my part-time profession.
What I pull from this statement is not to focus only on raising my kids, but rather to make them my priority.
I’ve been writing to you each monday during our coffee talks about my struggles as a busy, working mom. I’ve talked about how my husband and I have recently chosen to “unplug” every Sunday and focus on our kids instead of being distracted with technology. I’ve talked about sometimes feeling like I’m drowning and unable to catch up with my endless to-do list.
Why do we, as moms, think we need to be superwomen? Why can’t we just focus on one thing at a time? I think being able to multitask is both a blessing and a curse for women.
Don’t get me wrong, I have huge hopes and dreams for blogging and for my graphic design business, I just need to remember to take it one step at a time. I have two very young children who require my attention, and I can’t forget that sometimes, being a mom is enough. To paraphrase Jon Acuff: I am, after all, raising humans – it’s kind of a big deal.
It’s ok if I don’t post on my blog on Monday because I was too busy playing outside with my daughter. It’s ok if hours go by without checking my email because I’m feeding, changing, and soothing my infant.
We have several seasons in life, and right now my season is straight up mommyhood.
I need to give myself a break. I know I have dreams, ambitions, and my own ideas of personal success, and they will all come to fruition in time. But I want/need to embrace this season. I will never get this time with my little ones back.
God was truly working through the speakers to continue driving this familiar lesson into my head, which is crazy because I wasn’t even at a Christian conference… yet He was everywhere to be found. I love how sneaky He can be.
So as I am overflowing with inspiration and ideas from this weekend, I am reminding myself to take it slow and embrace the fact that sometimes being a mom is enough.
P.S. I’m not sure you intended to inspire me as a parent, Jon Acuff, but thank you anyway (and don’t worry, you also inspired me as a blogger).
Here are some snapshots from my weekend at Blissdom:
