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Our World

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A long time ago I had a series on the blog where I shared more personal items with no real intent behind them other than sharing myself with readers and recording history. I’m getting back into that habit as I feel that it is a great way for you to get to know me! I’d love to hear about what YOU did this past week as well. Share a link or comment in the comment section below!
This weekend was a whirlwind weekend and it looks like the rest of the month is going to be the same.

Saturday we went to a wedding for a friend of my husband. It was set on a campground in Oregon. The weather was perfect, the beer was delicious, and the crowd was laid back and friendly. We enjoyed the sweet ceremony and delicious BBQ dinner afterwards. The couple even made a custom flag that they put up the flag pole after they wed. Sweet touches like that make me happy.

Mainly, we loved getting to spend time together as a family while celebrating someone else coming together as family. There is just something really special about that!


Today was the busiest day our little family has had in a long while. We started the day working the Walk to End Alzheimer‘s in Portland.

I work in the senior living field and this walk is always a big event for us. My personal experiences combined with my work really make the cause of fighting Alzheimer’s a bit of a passion project for me. I love that my family and friends support the cause as well.

I painted around a ton of faces today and I’m pooped! But, it was so worth it!

 

After we ran home to get cleaned up from the walk we hopped back in the car to head to one of our favorite play cafes in Portland, Pied Piper!

Catherine, of Ten Thousand Hour Mama, hosted a little blogger and kiddos meet-up at the cafe. I met many local bloggers (and mommas) that I had only met online in the past. They were all so lovely. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it after such a long morning, but I’m glad I made the trip!

 

What did you do this weekend? 

That is a bold statement— Changing the World. But, I believe it. I don’t believe it is just working moms that are doing the changing either. I feel like a lot of mothers right now are changing the world for (hopefully) the better. Today is EarthDay—which, I know, is all about recycling and being a better citizen of the planet— and it got me thinking about other ways in which we are bettering our planet.

The moms in this series have been sharing what they want their kids to look back and think of when they look back on life with a working mother. I don’t know that many of the answers are any different that what our mothers, those that worked, might have hoped for us growing up.

We work to change the world for our children. Stories on Working Moms at A Well Crafted Party. Photography by www.mommabearmag.com

 

We are half-way through my series on working mothers. If you’ve missed any of it then you should absolutely check it out. A big thank you to the volunteers that let me ask them a ton of questions and get photos of them. Also a huge thank you to the women that helped make this possible Mary Boyden of Mama Bear Mag took all the photos from the photoshoot and Madeline Roosevelt offered hair and make-up services to those who wanted it. These women are seriously kick-ass with what they are doing in their own worlds at this moment in time:

 

Why do mothers work?

There are about a thousand different reasons why working mothers work. For some people—which I didn’t really encounter as I was getting volunteers for this series but I KNOW exist and have shared their stories with me— they work because they have no other choice. They WISH they could stay home with their child and be the full-time caregiver, but they simply can’t afford it. Some mothers work, even though they wish to stay home with their children during the baby years, because if they didn’t they wouldn’t have a job to come back to once they felt that their caregiving can be shared. And, then, there are some mothers who love work and feel that they are better versions of themselves, and thereby better mothers for their children, when they do work.

Whether it is a dream job or a job that it is out of necessity I feel that todays working mothers are beginning a conversation that will change the future of working mothers for our children. 

 

We work to change the world for our children. Stories on Working Moms at A Well Crafted Party. Photography by www.mommabearmag.com

What legacy are working moms leaving for their children?

There are so many things that I want for my children that me, my mother and certainly my grandmother didn’t have as an option. I’d like for these conversations about working mothers can help normalize the issues that we are all dealing with just a tad more. I want for my kids to have family leave that is PAID for—whether by their companies or the government I don’t know— so they don’t have to go back to work before they are ready. I want the mommy wars to die down a bit so that whether someone chooses to stay home with their children (for financial or child care reasons) or to go to work everyone stops judging these decisions and starts helping out the mommas in their circle. I want mom guilt to stop being about not getting to be in the lives of their children because they are stuck in an office and more about that extra scoop of ice cream that caused way too much energy. You know?

It is going to take a lot more conversations. It is going to take some changes in our government. And it is going to take a whole bunch of women supporting other women to make these things happen.

 

We work to change the world for our children. Stories on Working Moms at A Well Crafted Party. Photography by www.mommabearmag.com

 

Some things other mothers hope for?

I also hope [seeing me work] helps them become more independent and creative. When I grew up, both my parents worked. Having a lot of free time on our own made me and my siblings invent fun for ourselves. We spent hours imagining ourselves as fairies or orphans or alligator wrestlers. We dedicated weeks to turning our play room into a haunted house. We made up songs and ran around outside and skinned our knees and broke windows (though not too often, thankfully). I want my girls to have a similar childhood – one that’s not micromanaged by me.” — Catherine, Writer & Mother of Two

“I really, really hope my son will understand that I work not because I didn’t like being around him- I actually like it quite a bit, certainly way more than I thought I would- but because it’s what’s right for me.  The classic, “It’s not you, it’s me,” bit.  I hope it shows him that you can live the life you want, even if it’s hard, as long as you’re willing to (forgive the pun) work for it.  And I hope he internalizes the lesson that you should not make anyone but yourself the center of your Universe: it’s an unfair amount of pressure to expect someone else to give your life meaning and worth.  That’s not to say that you shouldn’t devote any (or even a lot!) of your time and energy to someone you love, just that you shouldn’t let them take more than is healthy for you to give.” — Jenny, Office Manager & mother of one

“This is an old one, and you hear it a lot.  But I want my children to see that women do not have to walk away from their dreams, goals, and position in the marketplace to become a mother.  Yes, you CAN do and have it all.  But you have to wake up every day with intention.  Clear and focused intention.” — Missy, Radio Host, Regional Sales Director & Mother to Twins

How do you see working mothers of today changing the world? What do you hope for for the mothers of the future?

Happy Earth Day… now, go change your world!

Rock for a Reason // A Well Crafted Party

National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and today’s blog is in hopes of helping shed a little more light on the desperate need for more funding and research on pediatric cancer. Cancer remains the most common cause of death by disease for children and adolescents in America. Growing up my best friends family dealt with the impact of pediatric cancer on their world when her sister was diagnosed. A local girl and her family are experiencing the hardships that pediatric cancer brings with it and the community of Milwaukie, Oregon are banding together to help! 

Portland-Area Businesses Coming Together for a Cause

The local Milwaukie community is pulling together to host an outdoor family friendly benefit, silent auction and rock concert for a local girl living with a very rare brain tumor. Leah Merklin, a 4-year old girl has one of the rarest forms of pediatric brain cancer, primarily affecting young children, the brain tumor called DIPG is both inoperable and incurable.

On Wednesday, September 10th, local Milwaukie business owners, Portland DJ Ron Rouse, Chris Carpenter & The Collective, a local band, and Good Roots Community Church are joining arms to host an outdoor community fundraiser for Leah.

Banding together, local vendors are stepping up to offer locally sourced, delicious food at the event: Pronto Pizzeria & Kitchen will be selling grilled pizzas and farmer’s market fresh salads. Schoolyard Farms, a local nonprofit educational farm, will be offering build you own kid salads. Pepper & Salt will be selling butternut squash infused mac + cheese and lettuce turkey wraps. Painted Lady Coffee House will be selling hot coffee, Italian sodas, and homemade delicacies and Mix ‘n’ Match Creamery will be whipping up batches of their custom made ice cream.

Wine:30 Bar and Duffy’s Irish Pub are setting up a beer and wine garden – 100% of the proceeds from all Pabst and Breakside Brewing purchases will go directly to the Merklin Family.

There will be stenciled face art by Sweet Cheeks Airbrushing; handmade necklaces and headbands offering proceeds back to the Merklin family; and a bouncy house, henna tattoos and a stilt walker for the kids!

Ron Rouse, who works for Portland Fire & Rescue and is also a popular local DJ named DJ Rontourage, will be donating his time at the event. Local band Chris Carpenter & The Collective will be playing live music from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Event goers will be invited to pick out a favorite song from the band’s play list and the band will play songs for donation.

Finally, there will be a silent auction featuring locally procured items, with 100% of the proceeds going back to the family.

Connect

Connect with the Rock for a Reason Facebook event or connect with the Support for Leah Rose Merklin and Family Facebook Page!