Reading, Writing and "Mommyblogging"

A colleague (and friend) of mine, Amy Pence-Brown, is participating in what sounds like a fascinating project and exhibition, titled Visible M(others): Images of Parenting in Visual Culture. On view at the Boise State University Student Union Gallery in Boise, Idaho, the show (in part) deals with the sociological, intellectual and emotional affect of visual media (like blogs) in our culture of parenting.

Amy's blogging is part of the exhibition. She explains: "for the six weeks of the exhibition, [we will be] exploring ideas of how our 'mommyblogs' are a sort of 'digital front porch swing,' a place to share information and be heard, a forum for asking questions, showing off our kids and our skills. Mommyblogs act not only as an informational outlet, but a creative force in our contemporary maternal culture, as the blogs are loaded not only with verbal creativity, but photography, crafts, and other digital imagery, documenting our lives as mothers. Provoking complex questions, the exhibition presents new perspectives on traditional, contemporary, alternative or imagined parenting and how they operate in a visible/invisible landscape of maternal visual culture."

Cool, huh?

Anyway, I've been following Amy's weekly posts about issues ranging from the public nature of blogs (and just how much of our lives we parents are willing to share about ourselves and our children); blogs as parental support systems; blogs as documentation of our struggles, successes and the chaos that accompanies life with children. Amy also addressed (and got me thinking about) why we blog. Why I blog.

Why do I blog?

When I first started blogging, I had some pretty grandiose ideas about my blog being a "forum" for discussion between myself and other parents of twins. I wanted this to be a place where we could discuss the challenges and joys of raising siblings who are the same age. I guess I was hoping for information, support, a place on the web that maybe made me feel a little less inept as a mother of multiples. Oh, sure, I've been visiting lots of mommyblogs for years (including Dooce, my favorite). But I struggled to find parenting blogs about twins that were engaging and honest. Maybe because most parents of multiples barely have time to use the bathroom, let alone write a witty blog that can support a family of four.

In the process of writing my own mommyblog, however, I discovered that I cared less about the forum and more about documenting the lives of my sons. Newsflash: these kids change FAST, and what better way to record memories of them than through stories, photographs and videos? I even include recipes because, I hope, someday, maybe even after I'm gone, Owen will be making a grocery list with his wife/partner and say, "you know what I could really go for right now? My mom's meatloaf." I write all this stuff down for Will and Owen, so they have a narrative of our lives together, no matter how mundane it might seem right now.

And maybe I blog for me, too. I find writing immensely therapeutic, and I always have. I got my first diary when I could start writing, and let's face it, no one puts herself through a liberal arts graduate program unless she actually enjoys writing thirty and fifty page papers. And I did, despite the fact that I didn't really sleep over the course of those five years of writing. I feel like blogging keeps my mind from going mushy and my fingers from atrophying. I do a lot of writing for the gallery, too, and it is one of my favorite aspects of my job.

I do read other parenting blogs. I find them inspiring. Because all parents, and all of their struggles, some of which mirror my own, do make make me feel less inept not necessarily as a parent of multiples, but just as a mom. Plus I really enjoy seeing cute pictures of other children, especially my niece and nephew. So, all you other mommybloggers out there: keep writing. You keep me sane.