Like the halcyon days of team sports

mama2bna — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 09:25:52 -0500

The thing that astounds me is how quickly you realize you are a part of something. The impact we have individually is multiplied by the other bloggers around us, eliminating the worry of, "Will I make a difference?" I can't think of another example of a community so effectively harnessing the power of collaboration. I am so proud to be a part of the mommy-blogging community.

Amanda

Tumble Dry

http://lifewithbriar.blogspot.com

The Wink

http://toddlywinks.blogspot.com

Thanks for sharing. Go visit Bella, too!

Jennifer Satterwhite — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:40:28 -0500

I love hearing all about these stories. Thank you for sharing!

~Jenn~

Another Great Example

Mama Zen — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:45:54 -0500

I hope that you don't mind, but I wanted to call attention to another great example of bloggers taking care of their own. Bella from Beyond the Map and some of her friends are organizing an auction to raise funds for a fellow blogger, Jeni. Jeni is a single mom to a six year old son, and she has stage four colon cancer.

Please visit Bella for more details. It's amazing what we can all do together!

Mama Zen

The Zen of Motherhood

It is good to see it, to be honest

Jennifer Satterwhite — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:29:04 -0500

I love to see the goodness and kindness come out. No matter what part of the Internet you hang out in, seeing strangers reach out and help each other is heartwarming. Setting all of the garbage aside and being there is what makes me continue to blog!

~Jenn~

Mommy Needs Coffee | Mommybloggers

Love reading this

Kalyn Denny — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 09:02:05 -0500

I found this very uplifting. I love hearing how blogging can help women connect in very significant and personal ways like this. Great post!

Kalyn Denny
Kalyn's Kitchen

Mommybloggers Give Back. Taking Care of Our Own

Jennifer Satterwhite — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:06:55 -0500

Mommybloggers. We have been called everything from narcissistic naval gazers to the holy grail of the marketing world. When I started blogging over 5 years ago, there were not a lot of mommybloggers out there. In fact, most of us who were writing frequently either knew each other or knew of each other. It was a small community. Today? Today there are roughly 200,000-plus bloggers who are blogging on the topic of parenting and family. Each day a new mom or family blog pops up with fresh stories, experiences and points of view. The focus ranges from the mundane of motherhood to politics to the harsh realities that come with being a parent. You would think that with a name that sounds so sweet-- "mommyblogger"-- that it would be all sunshine and roses among this vast group of women. Sometimes it is. But do not think for one moment that this genre of blogging is not filled with competitiveness and politics.

Now that we have been "discovered" by the media and the marketing world, there can be some not-so-niceness going on within the community. There have been blogs set up where the sole purpose is to mock, hurt or belittle mom bloggers. Sometimes just the name "mommyblog" will turn people so against a blog, they never take the chance to actually read some quality writing. And trust me. There are some very good writers out there that fall under the "mommyblogger" umbrella. But is it all competion and politics? Not at all. In fact, just the opposite.

When "one of our own" needs our help, we kick it into high gear and do whatever we can to help.

It is about mom bloggers going all out to be there for each other.

When Lisa of Clusterfook posted some bad news (to say the least) on her blog the end of March.

For the life of me I never fathomed that I’d have to share this news
with you again and I’m deeply sorry. I wish I could tell you that I
landed that six figure job, but instead I have to tell you something
more grim…

It’s a threepeat…I have cancer.

I’m sorry. I really didn’t want to tell you but I always put myself out there, so why would this be any different?

The cancer is different this time…it’s spread to some of my organs.
I don’t understand what any of it means except that my cousin, the
doctor, kept saying, “Lisa, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.”

And then she went on to ask her readers to not be speechless and to
share with her something good. Something they are grateful for.

Seriously. If you have made it to the end of this post, whether by
feed reader or by stopping by the blog…don’t feel speechless.

Use the comments to tell me one thing…just one thing that you are
grateful for today. Even if it’s Peanut M&Ms because I could really
go for some Peanut M&Ms right now. The comments are all about
gratitude today…

Gratitude…and I’m grateful for my blog friends.

What came next was absolutely amazing.

Miss Ann Thrope
posted about the situation on her blog. She proposed a raffle to raise
money so that Lisa could take her kids to Disneyland. Oh, how the
bloggers rallied! Karen of Karen Sugarpants
posted about it as well. In fact, I could fill this entire post about the mombloggers who have gotten behind Lisa and have posted about it. (Leave your name in the comments if you have and want to share your story.) The mommyblogger support system kicked into
high gear. The last total I saw was astounding. However, Lisa does
not want to know the total. Therefore it is not being posted right
now. But the amount is in the thousands. Think about that. The support
of a community to be there for one of our own to take her kids to
Disney. How incredible is that?

When it comes down to it, mommybloggers really are there for each
other. It is not always about the "infamous A-list" that is supposedly
in existence. Or about the free trips just for fun and swag. Or about the free
products. It is about taking care of one of our own. When it comes down to it, isn't that what we want the mommyblogging community to really be about? Each other? Supporting. Helping. Lifting each other up. That is the community I want to be a part of. The community I am proud to be a part of.

In another act of Mommyblogger kindness I found this post by Bonggamom of the blog Finding BonggaMom. She recently posted on her blog about how many ways there are to save a life.

There are many ways to save lives. Some involve acts of great courage
and heroism. Other ways require less in the way of personal safety but
involve a different sort of sacrifice; a fortune, perhaps, or effort, a
lifetime of dedication. And then there are some ways that really are
simple and safe, yet really do make a difference in saving lives.

She then gave a hat tip to fellow mom blogger and Silicon Valley Moms Blog founder, Jill Asher is sponsoring.

I wanted to do something in Silicon Valley that can make a difference
for other families going through the awful diagnosis of leukemia. To
be clear, this will not directly benefit my Mother, who has already
been matched with a donor. However, for many other patients, long term
remission (or a cure) will depend on a bone marrow transplant.
So....the only "productive" thing I could think of was to hold a MARROW DRIVE, in honor (NOT MEMORY) of my mother.

You can find more details on the Marrow Drive in Silicon Valley on this post featured on Silicon Valley Moms Blog.

Whether your blog receives hits in the double digits to thousands in a day, you are a part of one of the most amazing genres on the internet when you become one of the many bloggers who call themselves mommybloggers. You give. You support. You help carry each others' burdens.

And isn't that what life should be about anyway?

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