Mommy Bloggers Can Change the World

I'm a blogger.  I've been a blogger for a lot of years and can honestly say it is something I have always enjoyed doing.  It has been incredibly humbling over those years to have people tell me that my writing, my stories, my life has made a big impact on their life.



This week, I attended a conference for small business owners, many (perhaps most) of whom were bloggers.  And I have to say that never, in my WILDEST imagination, did I imagine that bloggers are such an influential group of people.  It is quite possible they have the power to change the world.

Perhaps that sounds like a grand overstatement, but I don't think so.

And here's why I say that.  Current estimates say there are about 450 million active English language blogs right now, according to Technorati. (A number that has grown from 200 million just since 2009). Of those blogs, a staggering 41% are what are known as "mommy blogs" (or 181,000,000 if you're doing the math, with 39,000,000 coming from the US alone!)


Now before you discount these so called, "mommy blogs" you should know that BIG NAME brands are actively wooing these bloggers to be the spokespersons for their products. Turns out, these bloggers have an incredible amount of influence into their worlds, an influence that apparently is worth paying for.

Notable among the sponsors at this event were organizations that do, indeed, have the power to save the world. And that made my wheels start turning.

What if the 39,000,000 U.S. mommy bloggers united their voices and decided to speak out on behalf of a worldwide need, like say clean drinking water?  (That's a good place to start!)

I'm not saying I know how to make that happen.  But someone out there reading this does.  So you smarty pants with all the influence, get this organized! 

All that to say, Mommy Bloggers have the power to change the world!  Come on girls!  Use your powers for good!  Who's in?

I Like to Tell Stories

When the girls were little, pretty much from the time we got them until just a few months ago, I worked all the time.  I had a full-time job in a church.  I loved my job and the people I worked with each day.  It was a challenging job in so many ways, and fed some really great parts of me.  But it also fed some not so great parts of me.  That's truth.

I remember that I used to explain to Shannay that I had to work because my job was helping people love Jesus more.  Some mornings when I would leave for work or drop her off at the day care and she would balk (freak out is a better description, that or have a near nuclear life-shifting meltdown) I would say, "Shannay, Mommy has to go help people love Jesus more."

When I think about that now, ugh.  I'll bet that sweet little girl was thinking, "But I need you Mommy.  "I" need you to stay here with me.  "I" need you to help me not be afraid.  "I" need you to constantly remind me that my world will not ever be an evil, scary place again."

That's not really the direction I was going with this post, so let me shift back.

I used to try to explain to her what I did as my work.  Why I had to be gone all the time.  And I think on her level, she got it.  Mama had a job.  People have jobs.  Jobs help us eat and have clothes and have a place to live.  Jobs are good.

And over time, she got used to me being gone all the time.

Then life changed.  And Mama was home all the time.

At home and on her computer.

A few weeks ago I was explaining to Shannay what my job was.  (She asked me why I didn't go to work anymore.)

I explained to her that when I was on my computer, I was working.  That my work was writing. When she asked me what I was writing (which by the way EVERYONE asks), I thought about it for awhile and then I said, "Well, I guess you could say I write people's stories for them."

Yesterday, she was playing at her desk near mine and she had a pretend laptop on her desk.  When I asked her what she was doing she said, "I'm doing my job."

So I said, "What's your job, Shannay?"

She said, "I'm helping my friends tell their stories.  Just like you, Mom."

Melt.  My.  Heart.

All that to say, I'm still getting used to answering the question, "What do you do for a living?"  I still have days where I miss the interaction with other adults. But moments like yesterday make the transition so much easier.  What do I do for a living?  Well, I guess I'm helping my friends tell their stories.