Calling All Moms!
By Lisa Hendey • Jan 18th, 2010 • Category: Lisa's Blog, Moms
Mary Hasson, Executive Vice President of the wonderful Phases of Womanhood website recently contacted me regarding a special project she's working on. Mary shared,
"I am writing a longer piece for Laywitness on "mentor moms," focusing on the idea that moms who are beyond the baby years have time and wisdom to share with their younger counterparts. Many churches in evangelical circles have established programs that bring younger moms and older moms together in those kinds of relationships. In the Catholic circles I know of, these relationships seem to establsh themselves more informally or organically. I would love to hear from your readers on two points: If they are younger moms: Would they be interested in a mentoring relationship with an older mom and, if so, what qualities would they look for? I'd love to hear their stories of moms who filled that role or how they found a mentor. For older moms: Are they open to sharing their time and wisdom? What do they feel they have to give? How would they begin such a relationship (suggesting it to a younger mom or wait to be asked)? Again, I'd love to hear stories of the mentors in their own lives or how they have become involved in mentoring younger moms (however informallly)."Can you help Mary with what promises to be a great article for moms? Email her directly at catholicmentormoms@gmail.com to share your thoughts on this important topic.
Lisa Hendey - Lisa Hendey, Catholic wife and mom, is the founder and webmaster of CatholicMom.com. Visit her at LisaHendey.com.
Email this author | All posts by Lisa Hendey
I can’t tell you how much I have needed a mentor mom for the past 2.5 years. My mom lives out-of-state and I have no family here. My husband’s mom passed away. I needed help so much. It’s gotten easier now, but in the beginning I was completely sleep deprived and I just needed to have someone visit me and talk, maybe bring a meal and care about what was going on.
Qualities of a Mentor Mom:
-Good listener
-Likes to hold the baby
-I don’t need to her babysit, but at least if she could please watch the baby while I take a shower that would be so nice.
-Explain stuff about children’s developmental stages from her experiences of being a mom
-Pray with me and for the baby.
-Explain how marriages change and evolve after baby
-Remind me that it won’t last forever. One day I will sleep more than 5 hours a night.
-Go out to tea or shopping without the baby. Maybe let baby have some daddy time.
-Attend baptism and fill in if Godparent’s can’t be there.
-Maybe it would be nice to have a “God Grandma”, since they have the wisdom
I have one more idea. What if there was an application which was filled out similar to a match maker application. That way they would be more compatible.