We are nominated for an Iris Award!
Hello, beautiful Single Mom Nation. I am here to tell you that all those labors of love you carry out matter — taking balloon breaths until you can calmly deal with the tantruming toddler in the tampon aisle at Target, sleeping while holding a barf bucket in bed for your sick little one, rushing home from work to squeak into a parent-teacher conference, learning to love Maroon 5 so you can sing every word with your adoring super fan jamming out in the back seat of the car, cheering at all those soccer games, recitals, school plays, impromptu ballet performances at the bus stop, citizenship award ceremonies, first lines read out of a book alone, the last time the kids remembered to take out the trash without being reminded. What you do and who you are matters. We see you, single mamas, and we're amazed.
Sometimes one of those things you do without worrying if anyone is watching and just for the love of it gets recognized. A wink of understanding, an offer to help, an "I've been there" solidarity story, a free cup of coffee, a nice note. Not required but certainly appreciated. It can not only keep you going, it can inspire lots more good stuff.
We got one of those winks recently. It's actually way bigger than a wink. It is like a stadium cheer in the parenting blogging world.
We got nominated for an Iris Award in the sponsored content category for this piece I wrote on AlphaMom.
I say we because posts like these require the love and support of a lot of people. Isabel at AlphaMom brought me the opportunity and expertly edited my work, my son helped me style and stage the set, my daughter's delicious cheeky smile lit up the photos. And enough people nominated this post that it earned a nomination. I wrote the words and while I did, I felt a surge of power from a community of mothers who would get the sentiments, and who, in return, might offer a wink or comment or share in return. You, single mamas reading this, are a part of that community. So thank you, all.
I am jetting off to the Mom 2.0 Summit, where the Iris Awards will be presented. I am honored to be nominated in great company and to be seated in an audience full of inspiring authors, bloggers, podcasters, TV hosts, photographers and other influencers. I will also be speaking on going from stuck to success with Asha Dornfest of ParentHacks, Christine Koh of Boston Mamas and Karen Walrond of Chookooloonks. I am going to feel the power of moms over and over while I am there.
Then I will be back to feel the power of single moms right here. Until then, if you'd like to read more of the posts I wrote on AlphaMom, please do:
Would you review a bad nanny online?
I will be there when she walks (and other milestone myths I perpetuated)
Halloween is not just one night of fun for toddlers
Ready, set, road trip! How to turn trip prep into a labor of love
And if you would like to feel a big old wink for yourself, please enter our Single Mother's Day Giveaway here for a chance to win free babysitting. You deserve it.