Community Voices for Health

By Tanya Pimental

My Google Reader currently has 211 unread items.  Now I need to find the time to weed through it.  I’ll have to scroll quickly and stop only to drool over the delicious recipe photos in hopes of adding new things to my menu plan this week.  My subscription list needs to be shuffled from time to time. I love to find fresh new blogs to inspire and challenge me.

I consider myself an Internet Mommy.  It has really been my lifeline these last 5 years.  Parenting comes with so many questions, challenges, and adventures.  For me, the internet has allowed me to learn, to share, and to even make friends.  If ten years ago you told me my best friends would be women I met on the internet, I’d have never believed it.  But it’s the truth and I am ever thankful for having the internet to connect.  I facebook, spend several hours a week on a local messaging board, occasionally tweet, and try to blog often.

Things I can thank the internet for: Mom friends, my obsession with The Pioneer Woman, my overabundance of craft materials that will one day become works of art, allowing me to journal my family, and showing me every day that I am not alone in my struggles or triumphs. I am not ashamed of my love for all things online and I try to be honest and open about myself.  All too often, I think people put out a false image of perfection.  I think it’s important to share tougher parts of life and not just all those sun shiny moments.  It is not uncommon for me to share with you what my house looks like at the end of the day.

It wouldn’t be accurate to just portray myself as a mom who is glued to her keyboard. Although it is a pretty good image, I do have other interests and hobbies.  I recently transitioned from SAHM to WAHM and begun work for Care.com’s Mom Force. Last fall I started running out of a need to be healthier and lose some weight.  After running a few 5K’s, winter arrived and I have not been able to get out there as much as I’d like.  I strongly believe everyone should own a hot glue gun or two.  Birthdays are held in high regard around here, planning a special party makes me giddy. At the end of the day, I’d consider myself a dork, a good wife and mother, and hopefully the kind of woman others would like to be in some way.

I am pretty siked about being a part of the Signature Moms group.  It’s going to be so great getting to know the other unique moms.   We seem to be an interesting cast of characters.  Thanking you in advance for following us here and for letting us know when you read something you enjoyed or can connect with in our writing.  I am sure at least one of you out there could add Internet Mommy to your resume.