All Blog Posts

02/03/07

Two days after Christmas, my neighbor Jill* called me, crying. Her husband had threatened her. She said verbal abuse had been going on for awhile, but now the threats had escalated. Jill had talked to a counselor and was planning to go to the shelter where they’d help her move out of state and go into hiding. She asked me to take her child for the day so she could pack before her husband got home from a business trip. Truth is, I hardly know Jill. Our children have had one playdate together and that’s it. I knew nothing about her family or her marital crisis. Jill apologized for “dumping” this on me, explaining that she didn’t have friends or family in the area, and that the only other person she called for help wasn’t home. Not wanting to walk into the middle of a dangerous domestic situation, I first made sure her husband was out of town and wouldn’t return until the next day. Then I agreed to come over and take her child until the evening. I brought the child back to my house, made breakfast and let the kids play. Later we went to the mall and I made them a picnic which we ate in the park. It was an ordinary, even boring day, which Jill’s kid loved. There was a normalcy about it which the child seemed to crave. When Jill came to pick her child up, the kid didn’t want to leave. I get it. I wouldn’t want to go back into that situation either. I gave Jill a hug and told her to keep herself and her child safe and I wished her the best of luck on her journey.

MomsRising Together

Dawn Comer Jefferson

01/29/07

Today on the front page of the Times is an article on how women politicians are changing the rules of politics by emphasizing the ways that mother- and grandmother-hood has influenced them, presenting their experience as mothers as a key component to their capability as legislators. Read more by clicking here.

MomsRising Together

Catherine

Paid Family Leave

01/10/07

Have you needed to take time off for family responsibilities? Did you have paid leave? What happenned? Do tell! *After you submit your comments on the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) via e-mail to the Department of Labor (e-mail: whdcomments@dol.gov ), please share your comments, and personal stories, here. To share your comments and stories, just click the blog title above, or the "Read full post" link below. Then scroll down to the end of the comments/blog text to "Post a Comment."

MomsRising Together

Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner

Paid Family Leave

01/10/07

In case you are new to my blog , which will regularly appear on this MomsRising homepage (so check back in often!), my husband and I are wearing the MomsRising.org t-shirts everyday until Paid Family Leave is passed in Washington State. My hope is that it will raise awareness for MomsRising.org and garner support for the passage of Paid Family Leave in Washington. Now let me take a moment to properly introduce myself and illuminate why I am taking on working for Change here at home: I am now an activist. It's not how I'd have classified myself a month ago, but my recent pledge to consider democracy as an action, as opposed to a concept, has me viewing myself differently. I am thirty-three years old. I was raised in poverty by a mother who fled an abusive husband and turned to the state for help after her self-esteem and self worth were beaten out of her and her five children. I say poverty and I wonder if you, the reader, know what I mean. It is a widely used word, and brings to mind many pictures, I want you to see mine. Poverty was living in a school bus that was converted to be our home...

MomsRising Together

yvonnemonique

01/04/07

Who ever decided that motherhood and politics should be kept separate? I find this very frustrating in Moms' groups. Many groups have stated policies that political views and discussions are not welcome within the confines of the organization. The mandate to be "nice" is holding us back. There seems to be a fear that it's more important to "all get along" than to allow an open dialogue. Mothers aren't going to get political power unless we act like we want it, and in fact demand it. That is why I am so drawn to MomsRising and "The Motherhood Manifesto." The facts are aired and the stage is been set for real discussion. Sure, we won't all agree, but as mothers there is a whole lot of common ground we can cover together.

MomsRising Together

Mojo Mom -- Amy Tiemann

Paid Family Leave

12/31/06

Have a New Year's resolution to share? An inspiration for the next 365 days? *Share your resolution by clicking the blog title above or "Read full post" link below, then scroll down to the end of the blog text and Post a Comment. Speaking of inspired, check out what two MomsRising members, Yvonne and Ken, are doing for their New Year's resolution in the text below. *A New Look for a New Year by Yvonne and Ken: "At the end of every December, our family picks themes to represent our upcoming year. The theme is a way to help each of us focus on something we want more (or less) of in our lives. Last year Yvonne's theme was "Start no new projects." Ken's was: "Better balance between time spent at work and time spent at home." At the end of the year, we keep looking ahead and find something new to work towards. 2007 brings us the first unified theme since our marriage. After seeing the Motherhood Manifesto DVD in December we both were inspired to get involved. Neither of us has spent much time in political activism beyond merely writing a check or signing a petition so this year we pledged to go from passive activism to full-time, every day, social change animals. We will accomplish this by becoming human MomsRising t-shirt wearing billboards until paid family leave passes in our home state. Yep, we each will wear a MomsRising t-shirt every day, until a paid family leave bill is passed in Washington State.

MomsRising Together

Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner

12/31/06

End of December is the time for making resolutions which more often than not are distant memories come the Super Bowl. This year, I’ve decided not to make specific resolutions to do this or not to do that. It’s too damaging to my ego when June comes around and those ten pounds I was going to lose is now fifteen. So, I’ve come up with some broader thoughts to chew on which might last long after the holidays have passed and found some books and websites to help on the journey.

MomsRising Together

Dawn Comer Jefferson

12/22/06

If you want to be convinced that MomsRising is needed, check out the the responses to my piece on the Huffington Post at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joan-blades/indiscriminate-breeders_b_36682.html and to my previous article at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joan-blades/should-society-support-mo_b_36382.html . Even though it's one of the most heavily commented on articles of the day, it's disturbing how many people are against building a family-friendly America. This online dialog reveals just how important our work is! Frankly, it's time to expose the strong resistance to supporting families in our country. Let's educate people about current realities!

MomsRising Together

Joan Blades

12/10/06

If we want to understand the wage gap between mothers and others, we might need to start by looking at the way we treat our kids. A new University of Michigan study, as reported in the Wall Street Journal, reports that boys ages 10 to 18 are more likely than girls to be paid for doing housework, even though boys spend an average of 30% less time doing chores. According to the WSJ, Professor Frank Stafford, who headed the resrarch, speculates that "Boys may be handling more of the kinds of chores that are regarded as a job that should be paid, such as lawnmowing. Chores such as dishwashing or cooking, often regarded as routine and done free, may fall more often to girls."

MomsRising Together

Mojo Mom -- Amy Tiemann

Paid Family Leave

12/07/06

Do tell! Please share your ideas for what MomsRising should e-mail out to members as a holiday greeting here! *To share your ideas, click the blog title above or "Read full post" link below, then scroll down to the end of the blog text and Post a Comment. The holiday season is a great time for making people smile, and also for helping grow the size of our movement. You, our members, are the key source of great ideas and power behind the dynamism of MomsRising.

MomsRising Together

Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner