Wednesday's Woman Returns

I turned on comment moderation.  If this is inconvenient for you, I do apologize.  While I was on hiatus from blogging the spam took over my comment section.  Moderation will help me to regain control and give me time to clean it up.  Thanks for your patience.

My hope is that the clean-up becomes maintenance and the work in progress never ends. There’s beauty in the process, isn't there?

Speaking of process, I visited my old blogger friend The Mommy Padawan just a minute ago at her space on the Web.  I was grateful to see her and read her words.  She’s still here!  And she’s embraced her work in progress. She is embracing change and it is working out well for her.  She continues to be an inspiration to me.

Read about her journey here: Changes

Speaking of Mommy Padawan (Anna Mahler), she was significant in helping to keep my series Wednesday’s Woman going.  In fact, I felt as if it was more our series than solely mine.  As I resuscitate Sperk* I am also reviving Wednesday’s Woman.  Today.

What is Wednesday’s Woman?  Here’s a screen shot of how it currently stands:

It will stay the same.  I still want guest posts.  Your contributions, perspectives, and interpretations of what makes a Wednesday’s Woman have been invaluable.  The women that stand out to you, have impacted you…their stories can only come from you.  I need YOU!

The only change I am making is instead of it being weekly, it will now be bimonthly (occurring twice a month).  I think the first and third Wednesdays of each month will work well, don’t you? 

So, who wants to be my guest for next week?  Don’t be surprised if you get a solicitation for a guest post soon.  Or, you could make it easy and be the first to raise your hand.  Email me or leave a comment if you want to be featured here next week, or the next next week, or the week after that.  If you have contributed in the past, you again can contribute.   

To get the ball re-rolling, below is a re-post honoring Anna for all her contributions to Wednesday’s Woman.  Enjoy.

The Mommy Padawan screenshot 

Last week I mentioned that Wednesday’s Woman keeps me going.  This is true.  I am grateful for all of the bloggers who willingly take time out of their schedules to share with us stories of the women who inspire them. 

There is one woman, a regular contributor to Wednesday’s Woman, who is instrumental in the endurance of this series.  She is flexible and forgiving of my lack of scheduling skills.  She is always willing to read my rambling emails and regularly responds with compassion and empathy.  Her name is Anna Mahler.    

Anna's first submission was last March honoring Lisa Shannon.  For her intro I wrote: 

This week’s Wednesday's Woman was written and submitted by Anna Mahler, of The Mommy Padawan.  I am certain you get the “Mommy” part.  But are you familiar with the term “Padawan”?

A "padawan" is a term for “student” taken from the film Star Wars.  I think the title of Anna’s blog is fitting.  She is a careful observer of life and looks to her experiences for opportunities to grow as a woman, wife, and mother.  She sees her three year old son as her greatest teacher.    

Students learn most through their experiences teaching others.  Anna is no exception.  She shares the wisdom she has gained as a wife and mother in her ebook You are Loved - Caring for Our Children, Families, and Ourselves with Loving Kindness.  

Her philosophy of self-care allows her to create a harmonious home.  Self-care also allows her to recognize the importance of sharing her uplifting attitudes with the readers of her blog.  I encourage you to spend time at The Mommy Padawan where you will find a voice of authenticity, grace, warmth and courage. 

I’d like to honor Anna today by revisiting all of her contributions to Wednesday's Woman.  They are linked below.  Be sure to thank her.  And be sure to let her know she is quite deserving of being honored as this week’s Wednesday’s Woman.

Wednesday's Woman: 
Works of Mommy Padawan

Wednesday's Woman:  A Call to Action

Honoring Lisa Shannon, author and founder of Run for Congo Women, which is a volunteer effort to raise funds and awareness for women in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  She also spent months in eastern Congo exploring the link between mining and the world's worst sexual violence.


Wednesday's Woman: Impacting Families
Honoring Dr. Jane Aronson, founder of Worldwide Orphans Foundation.


Wednesday's Woman: A New Generation of Widows
Honoring Taryn Davis, founder of American Widow Project.


Wednesday's Woman: This is a Safe Place
Honoring Diane Latiker, founder of Kids Off the Block

Wednesday's Woman: Zainab Salbi
Honoring Zainab Salbi, an Iraqi American writer, activist and social entrepreneur who is co-founder and president of Washington-based Women for Women International.


Wednesday's Woman: Christy Turlington Burns
Honoring Christy Turlington Burns, American model and founder of Every Mother Counts, a campaign to end preventable deaths caused by pregnancy and childbirth around the world.


Wednesday's Woman: Being of Service
Honoring Seane Corn, founder of Off the Mat and Into The World


Wednesday's Woman: Mildred Loving
Honoring Mildred Loving, civil rights activist. She and her husband successfully defeated Virginia's ban on interracial marriage.

WEDNESDAY'S WOMAN IS A WEEKLY FEATURE DEDICATED TO SPOTLIGHTING WOMEN WHO ARE ROLE MODELS FOR OUR DAUGHTERS. . . AND THE WORLD.

photo credit: JD Hancock via photopin cc

Hello Again

Wow.  Where have I been?  I took the summer off from blogging in order to spend more time with the kiddos.  Summer turned into autumn.  Swimsuits and shorts into jeans and sweaters.  So much has transpired.  So much in my life has been fixed and much more is in need of fixing. I don’t know where to begin.  I’ll start with a welcome back to me!

It’s easy to stop blogging.  Especially if one has a gift for procrastination, which I do.

“Oh, I’ll do that link-up on Tuesday.”

Tuesday rolls around and I say, “Well, I don’t think anyone really wants to hear about that.  I mean really.  Next Tuesday.”

And so on.  And so on.

It’s difficult to start blogging after a long hiatus.  It’s very difficult.

I mean, what do I say?

“Sorry it's been a while, I’m a lazy bum?”

“I’m afraid you won’t like what you read?”

Dribble, dribble, droll.

Fear.  Fear.  Fear.

Plus, my story is not only my own, but also belongs to the people in my life—my partner, my daughters, the people in my community that may read Sperk*.  I feel a need to protect them, their privacy.  Plus, as far as my daughters, I don’t want to embarrass them.

I've missed having a voice, though, which is the most precious gift of blogging.  Not all in this world have a voice.  I do.  I should be using it.  Forget hiding in silence.  Forget fear of judgment.  Forget thoughts like, “I’m not where I should be at this point in my life.”

“If I really share my opinion, I may be ignored at the next school function.”

And so on.  And so on.

Furthermore as I was searching for stock photos to include with this post I came across this:

And to that I say, "whatever," because I then came across this:

My blog’s layout needs updated.  My bio needs to be rewritten.  The tabs need to be made relevant. 

So much to do.  So much to say.

I must proceed with patience.

I must acknowledge that the hard part is done—getting started.

Here it is.

Blog post number one, after a very long, lonesome hiatus.  I've missed my blogging connections.  I've missed you.

Hello, again.

 

"Hello again, its been too long, too long, too long, hello again" DMB



I have been consistently taking mobile photos and posting on Instagram.  In case you missed me there:

photo credit: mikkelz via photopin cc

photo credit: Will Lion via photopin cc

photo credit: Travelin' Librarian via photopin cc