Reality makes our circles so small, doesn’t it? I think about having grown up in small-town Northern Wisconsin in the 70s and 80s. Talk about isolation. Talk about not really knowing what was going on in the world. Talk about not understanding a lot about how people really live their lives outside of small-town Northern Wisconsin. That’s me.
My circle has gotten bigger.
Strangely enough, however, it has been coming home to motherhood that has allowed me to really see how people live their lives all over the country and the world. I’ve seen different Christians, different wives, different mothers. Blogging has given me a peek into so many worlds. I had no idea that life could be so varied, that there could be so many ways to live in the simple parameters of wife and mother. I had no idea whatsoever.
Over the course of these last 4+ years, I have realized something about myself. I like to try new things. I like to do different things and the same things in different ways. I’m always changing it up somehow - whether it’s sewing or cleaning or exercising or spending time with my family or cooking or shopping. I’ve got a lot of variation in it. I mean a lot. And the weird part is, I’m not afraid to try something new - even though I perceive myself as a low risk taker.
Heck, tonight as I scanned my cookbook for menu ideas, there are recipes that I just back away from because I think, “Too much work.” But hovering in my mind is the other thought…”How long until I ‘go for it’ with this recipe.” I’m so silly.
Online, I see all kinds of “go for it” moms every single day. I see lots of wonderful women who I look up to - many who are younger than I am. They have embraced their roles with whole heartedness, love for the Lord and enthusiasm. I am just a rookie, still, in this adventure.
But when I take a step forward (not back) and look to some of the women who live there lives here around me, I realize something else. I, too, am a go-for-it gal. In fact, I’ve always been one. But now that I see it, I am using it to my advantage. And I’m also blessed to have that variety of other women far from my life who share their stories to help me shape my life to more of what I want it to be - what I am called to do. Having this other part of my life has been fuel for the fire of my heart and hands. I am no longer trapped by only seeing things that are just around me physically.
I almost feel like I’m an adventurer of some sort. People expect me to be less because I’m spending most of my time with my kids. Yet, I’m not. I’m more in some regards because I want to do more and I seek and find it.
So thank you to all of those adventurer moms who are on the blogging trail with me, sharing their very different lives.
