Ann Douglas' interview with Mojo Mom and more

Warm thanks go out to parenting expert Ann Douglas for including me and Mojo Mom in her group interview on her Yahoo! Parenting blog, along with Jenna McCarthy, The Parent Trip, and Jen Singer, author of Stop Second-Guessing Yourself: The Toddler Years.

I loved the way Ann thoughtfully wove the conversation together on a wide range of topics, from how motherhood changes for each generation, to what policy makers don't understand about mothers.

Check it out for yourself:

Part 1: The Motherhood Manual(s): Motherhood, babies, and advice

Part 2: Motherhood convo: our moms, ourselves, and mothers of the future

Los Angeles area, June 23, Mojo Mom & Momma Zen's Summer Reading Salon

Mojo Mom and Momma Zen, together for the first time!
Hi Los Angeles-area fans, I hope you can join me for a Moms' Night Out on Tuesday June 23. I am teaming up with my friend Karen Maezen Miller, author of Momma Zen, for a Mother's Reading Salon at Sierra Madre Books, from 7 to 9 pm in Sierra Madre.

Karen and I have become great friends through our writing but we've never met in person! I told Karen I'd come all the way out to California if we could create an event together. We feel that putting together good books, Moms, and a summer night out is a can't miss combination. I imagine we'll have a dialogue among the group about motherhood, writing, creativity, and finding Zen in the midst of family life. And I have tons of book recommendations to share, after all the research I did while writing Mojo Mom.

It would be great if you could join us, invite friends, and help us spread the word. Here's the invitation as a Facebook event.

About ten years ago I attended a Japanese tea ceremony and was told that "each time is the only time." The leader pointed out that each ceremony is truly unique, because it would be the only time that this exact group of people ever gathered in this way. That's how I feel about this event, especially since it is the first event that Karen and I will ever do together!

Bouncing back today

I hit a wall this weekend but I am beginning to bounce back. Mother's Day is supposed to be relaxing for Mom but for me it marked the end of my book release marathon, and I felt exhausted. My daughter was sick, so nothing went as we had planned. I have been hearing the debates about health care and thinking of the 46 million Americans without medical insurance. It feel very grateful that we have coverage and didn't have to think twice about taking our child in to get checked out. It turned out that she had an infection that could have been bad news if left untreated, but with antibiotics she should be fine.

So those are the big things in life...I couldn't muster up the energy to blog on Monday or Tuesday, but I am back. We're eking out only one day of school this week because conferences are Thursday and Friday, but I am going to do my best to finish my Mojo Mom chapter summaries. It's been fun to create and share them, and I hope you are finding some other useful resources that speak to you.

Mojo Mom Chapter 3: Banking the Embers of Your Self...to Build a Bonfire Later

In the third chapter of Mojo Mom, we start to look beyond the intense postpartum phase, to begin to look forward to returning to the world, and finding out more about who we are. Our mojo may have simmered down to a fragile ember, but this is an important time to tend to that spark and get ready to bring our personal priorities and dreams back into focus.

This is a very practical chapter, as I discuss the Four Phases to Getting Your Mojo Back: Survival Mode, Incubating Your Desires, Setting Priorities and Goals, and taking Baby Steps Toward Your Goals (pun intended). There is also an important discussion of how to decide what gets put on your To-Do list in the first place.


Additionally, I recommend the following books for a variety of perspectives on how to reconnect with your essential self, and a life that is sustaining and sustainable in the long run:

Finding Your Own North Star by Martha Beck

It’s Hard to Make a Difference When You Can’t Find Your Keys: The Seven-Step Path to Becoming Truly Organized by Marilyn Paul

More Than a Mom: Living a Full and Balanced Life When Your Child Has Special Needs by Amy Baskin and Heather Fawcett

The One-Life Solution by Henry Cloud

Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker Palmer

Mojo Mom Chapter 2: Life Inside the Cocoon, the Early Months of Motherhood

The second chapter of Mojo Mom delves into the early months of motherhood from the mother's perspective. My goal was to fill in the details that some of the baby books leave out or gloss over. This is the one chapter of the book that is geared specifically for the needs of new Moms. Experienced Moms can read along or skip ahead to Chapter 3.

Here's a secret about Mojo Mom: it's a very positive, friendly book that makes a nice gift for any new Mom, and I also made sure to cover postpartum depression, sex after the baby arrives, and other problems and issues that can be awkward to talk about. So you can give the book to any new Mom, and whether she's having a great time, or really needs support, there will be resources right there for her.

The early weeks and months of motherhood are a truly intense time. My advice is to go with the flow at the beginning, enjoy your nesting time, and then begin to think about crafting a sustainable long-term parenting style, one that will inevitably evolve over the coming months and years. Seasoned Moms will tell you that as soon as you have figured one stage out, a whole new plane of development is usually just around the corner.

New for this edition, I really worked to improve my outreach to both employed Moms and women who take a longer break away from the paid workforce. I did new research and interviews with 55 women in a variety of situations to explore our common ground and the specific kinds of support that women needed when they returned to paid careers in addition to their mothering.

The consensus about personal support lifelines included basic physical needs, including sleep, good food, and exercise; mental needs for some time alone to think, read or meditate; and social needs including time to play with their kids, adult time with their partners, and friends.

I love "Mothering the Mother" books, and here are some of my favorite resources for the intense early days of motherhood:

Mothering the New Mother: Women’s Feelings and Needs After Childbirth by Sally Placksin

I Wish Someone Had Told Me: A Realistic Guide to Early Motherhood by Nina Barrett

This Isn’t What I Expected: Overcoming Post-Partum Depression by Karen Kleiman and Valerie Davis Raskin

I am a motherhood expert, rather than a parenting expert, but I know that sleep is the Holy Grail for new parents, and this book is a keeper:

The Sleep Book for Tired Parents: Help for Solving Children’s Sleep Problems by Becky Huntley

Finally, guides for Moms to stay happy in the long run, either returning to work or creating a satisfying life as a stay-at-home Mom for now:

The Milk Memos by Cate Colburn-Smith and Andrea Serrette

This Is How We Do It: The Working Mothers’ Manifesto by Carol Evans

The Working Mother’s Guide to Life by Linda Mason

The Stay-at-Home Survival Guide: Field-Tested Strategies for Staying Smart, Sane, and Connected While Caring for Your Kids by Melissa Stanton

Mojo Mom chapter summaries: What can my book do for you?

With the new Mojo Mom book release in full swing, I want to reach out to new and longtime blog readers to tell you more about what my book can do for you. Last month I blogged about finding "my peeps," other writers whose work really resonated with me. In that post I wrote a list "Mojo Mom may be just right for you if...." which I thought was an interesting idea to continue exploring.

So this week I am going to tell you more about the new book by posting ten short chapter summaries, two each day. I will tell you more about what each chapter can do for you, and I will include links to the recommended resources on each topic.

You can tell I used to be a teacher....put it all together and you'd have a "Mojo Mom 101" curriculum. I loved teaching, and it feels great to be able to channel my teaching mojo into a new direction. I have also reflected a lot lately on how much I love and adore books. Not just information, but real live (non-Kindle) books themselves. I interact with books intensively as physical objects as part of my learning and memory process.

I spent the weekend putting my Mojo Mom resources in order on my shelf, and also collecting all the books that don't have a place yet. I have seven banker's boxes over my limit of what I can store without having piles of books on every surface throughout my house, which explains some of my feelings of being overwhelmed lately.

In any case, from my bookshelf to your brain, the first Mojo Mom chapter summary will be along shortly. Enjoy!

***I'll add the links to each chapter summary as the posts develop***

Mojo Mom Chapter 1: A Mother is Born

Mojo Mom Chapter 2: Life Inside the Cocoon, the Early Months of Motherhood

Mojo Mom Chapter 3: Banking the Embers of Your Self...to Build a Bonfire Later

Mojo Mom Chapter 4: Am I Just Being Selfish? Letting Go of Guilt, Worry, and Anxiety

Mojo Mom Chapter 5: Centering, Silence, and Reclaiming Your Mind Space

Mojo Mom Chapter 6: Express Yourself

Thanks for making my author event a successful Mom's Night Out!

I'm sending out a big thanks to the twenty fans who came out to hear me speak at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh last night. After spending so many hours in solitude writing the book, meeting the real women who are reading my work is a real treat.

The bookstore managers were pleasantly surprised by the turnout. One of them said, "We were wondering how the women who really needed Mojo Mom would find a way to get free for the evening."
It's good to show that it is possible, and indeed vitally necessary, to carve out some time for ourselves! Speaking of which, next Thursday night, May 7, is National Mom's Nite Out--yet another chance to connect with friends. Check out their website for party ideas, local events, and online chats.

My After the Ecstasy, the Laundry moment

April has been a whirlwind, or maybe I should say that last year, since I started revising Mojo Mom, has felt like an extended spin cycle. Now that the new book is out, my mind is insisting on coming to a full stop.

This doesn't feel good. In fact, it feels a lot like losing my mojo. But I think it's important to listen to my mind and body. The past three weeks have felt like sprinting a marathon. I've done 26 radio interviews, one bookstore event, and co-led a 40-woman retreat. The radio tour was a wonderful opportunity to reach people across the country, and it was a singularly exhausting experience. I called in to more than 20 interviews in a three-day span, so it felt like the world's longest cocktail party, having between 5 and 50 minutes to discuss my work over and over again. I drew upon all my extrovert powers to keep going (and I tackled the interviews one at a time rather thank thinking about how many I had to do), but by the end of that week my brain was fried.
The daylong Recharging Your Mojo Retreat on April 18 was fantastic--the realization of a plan that the ten women in my own Mojo Mom Advisory Circle had been working on for over a year. During the retreat I felt energized and honored to share the room with 40 amazing women. But as soon as everybody left, my energy level crashed, and it has not yet recharged. I had spent the whole week leading up to the retreat sweating the details, poring over my to-do list, trying to figure out everything from how many sandwiches we needed, to what kind of sign to make to help people find the retreat center. That was all on top of figuring out what to say during the parts I led! Thankfully, my assistant Patty was in town and she helped out a lot, (saving my sanity, in fact) but even so, my mind was consumed for about a week ahead of time. It will be easier for the next retreat, now that we have had our successful pilot event.

But still, the fact is that since then I've been trying to decide whether to rest, or to fight my inertia. I am definitely having an After the Ecstasy, the Laundry kind of week, literally and metaphorically. This is a book by Jack Kornfield that talks about getting back to reality after having an intense spiritual experience. I've also been thinking a lot about Momma Zen and her "Hand Wash Cold" themes in her Cheerio Road blog, and I was turned on to the book A Broom of One's Own by Nancy Peacock, a memoir of a critically-acclaimed, North Carolinian writer who still has a day job cleaning houses. I resisted reading this book for a long time because when my husband Michael recommended it, saying "it's about writing and cleaning," I heard "writing and CLEANING, hint hint." But the good news is that this week I picked it up (borrowing it from our piano teacher, reading during Mojo Girl's lesson) and discovered that it's about WRITING and cleaning. This is the perfect time for me to read it, because Nancy Peacock talks about the writer's life, and how three hours a day writing and keeping a day job can be more effective than writing "full time." Cleaning allows her mind time to rest and wander, so that her characters are more willing to show up when she sits down to write. Plus, it's steady work that gets the bills paid, which helps because even a successful writer's paydays often come in irregular chunks.

Writing Mojo Mom required a lot of enlightened thought plus putting in the hours at the keyboard. In the process of focusing intensely to meet my deadline, I left a lot of real-life details undone.

So Michael and I have talked about the need to get back to the tasks in front of me. I aam open to this discussion and agree with his point, but I also said "this can't just mean that Amy does a ton of housework now!" So I need to find other nourishing things to do as well. I am loving cooking, still hating organizing and cleaning, and tennis is saving my sanity. I am spending more time with my family and really looking forward to a mellow summer. I will have a week by a lake in July all by myself for the first time in years. I am probably addicted to stress and rushing, because my biggest fear is that if I relax too much, I won't be able to get my creative engines revving again when I need to. But I know I do need to relearn how to relax, and trust that it will be good for my writing in the long run.

But I have realized that the laws of physics do apply to me, and it's time to take my own basic Mojo Mom advice--back to square one almost like I am back in those early days of motherhood. The other day I was literally doing laundry, piling it higher than the top of the laundry basket, and the whole thing toppled over. I didn't get mad or frustrated, I just realized, "Hmmm, if you pile it that high, it falls over." It was so basic and elemental. Then I realized that if I don't eat, I'll be hungry, if I don't sleep, I'll be tired, and maybe I should be patient with myself and accept the fact that my mind is spinning, and it will take a little while to figure out what's next for me.

Raleigh: Mojo Mom at Quail Ridge Books, Thursday evening

Hey y'all. It's been a slow blogging week here. I finally hit my low-mojo wall and I am in the process of bouncing back, which I'll write about later.

I plan to be fully recharged in time for my author event at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, this Thursday evening at 7:30 pm. I'll talk about what I learned by writing the new Mojo Mom, and how that knowledge can benefit you.

This is an important appearance for me, so I hope you'll attend, bring your friends, and help me spread the word. I've created an open event listing on Facebook if you'd like to RSVP! If you really want to be one of my angels, it would be great if you'd share the event listing by posting it to your Facebook profile.

Meeting the real women who are reading my book is one of the most rewarding parts of being a writer. Thank you for your support throughout the entire book release process!

Chapel Hill, Raleigh Mojo Mom bookstore apperances

Everyone's back from Spring Break, and all the Moms I know who have school-aged kids are experiencing serious re-entry shock. Chapel Hill felt very strange last week because despite the basketball championship celebrations at UNC, the town felt deserted.

So now that we're all getting back on track I wanted to remind you of my two upcoming Mojo Mom author appearances in Chapel Hill and Raleigh.

This Thursday, April 16, I'll be at Market Street Books in Chapel Hill at 7 pm. Market Street Books' owner Kathryn Henderson has been incredibly supportive throughout my writing career and I am happy to have the Chapel Hill book release party at this fantastic bookstore/community center in Southern Village. Your taxes will be completed--stop by and join me for a wine & cheese reception!

Then at the end of the month, I'll be at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, Thursday April 30 at 7:30 pm. Quail Ridge Books is a top-notch independent bookstore and a really fun place to have an event. This one will be a reading/quick workshop to get your mojo going.

Please note the different start times. These are two fantastic independent bookstores, so it would be wonderful if you would come out to say hello.

I have Facebook events set up for these appearances if you'd care to RSVP, or share and invite your friends!

Mojo Mom at Market Street Books, Thursday April 16 at 7 pm

Mojo Mom at Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh, Thursday April 30 at 7:30 pm

Mojo Mom on BoMoms and Manic Mommies

Last week Erica Noonan named Mojo Mom a "Book We Like" on the BoMoms.com website for Boston Moms. In her review, she brought up one of the more provocative points I make in the new book, namely my view that motherhood is not the most important job in the world. Not because it's not important, but because motherhood is not a job, it's a relationship.

[I blogged about this back in January 2007, The biggest mistake Moms can make, and adapted it for the new book.]

The BoMoms.com comment boards lit up as readers grappled with that idea. It's a point that does push people's buttons at first but I hope readers will take it in the spirit it is intended. Motherhood is rewarding but not in the same way a paid job is rewarding. When you apply a career-ladder model to motherhood you set yourself up for disappointment by expecting something motherhood cannot deliver.

Being a Mom is a lot more like being an artist or a monk, making a beautiful sand mandala each day that is swept clean each evening. There is great joy and meaning in that, but not always tangible results or reward to demonstrate our accomplishments.


I had a chance to talk about these issues further with Erin Martin Kane on the Manic Mommies podcast this week, so I hope you'll listen to the show!

Mojo Mom on Penguin.com blog this week

One of the cool things I get to do for my book release is to blog over at Penguin.com this week. It feels very authorial and official!

I hope you'll be intrigued by today's blog post, How to End The Mommy Wars.

I'll still be blogging here as well throughout the week. Tomorrow is Mojo Mom's big on-sale date, so it feels like Christmas Eve to me tonight!

The final week of the Mojo Mom Quote-A-Day Widget

This is the final week for the Mojo Mom Quote-A-Day widget. Next Tuesday I'll be putting a whole new book out there, instead of a Quote of the Day!

I learned a lot by going through the process of making a widget, and it's been surprisingly enjoyable for me to see the new quote revealed each day. Even though I chose the quotes, they always took on new meaning the day they were revealed.

So enjoy the widget, and next Tuesday we'll have a new homepage design for MojoMom.com to celebrate the book release.

Countdown to the new Mojo Mom!

The new Mojo Mom book release is almost here! I've been working on it for a year now so it's very exciting to be just a week away from April 7th.

I'll be announcing my author events soon. I'll be doing a few in-person events as well as at least 20 radio interviews, which feels like the most efficient way to tour the country. As much as I'd like to visit you all in person, I don't think my family would be very happy to see me go on an extended tour. I've always been conscious that it's important not to wreck my actual family life in the process of writing a book about how Moms can improve their lives!

My first "event" to announce is a virtual book release on Facebook, and if you are a Facebook member I'd really appreciate it if you'd RSVP to attend. This will help spread the word and show support for the new book. Publishing is such a challenging and competitive industry--the book has to prove itself by Mother's Day. It's almost like a movie release, but instead of two weeks to be judged a success, a book has about two months.

I'll be writing more soon about a few simple things you can do to support the book release. I've tried to be informative and generally noncommercial over the years, but this is the one time I really need to ask you for your help in recommending my book. My fans are my most powerful grassroots advocates!

The end of my monkey mind's blogging rebellion

Since I've finished my book, my mind has felt a little like a fizzy bottle of soda with the top popped off. My mind has been racing, undisciplined, and rebellious. After months of being focused on my writing, I kind of wanted to slack off for a few days.

I've felt guilty about not blogging every day. I've had ideas pile up that I just didn't get around to crafting into posts. But now my writing mojo is back, and my desire to connect and share is warming up again. So I hope and plan to be here every day (Monday through Friday, let's be realistic!) through Mother's Day, as a goal.

We've been working hard behind the scenes, and I'll have lot to report in the next few weeks as I celebrate my book release on April 7.

Thanks for hanging in there through my blogging dry spell and I promise to do my best to bring you good intel!

Beginning a new chapter

Finishing Mojo Mom has been a strange experience for me. I've been working on it for so long that I deeply feel both an ending and a beginning as I wait for the new book to come out.

Last week, when I finally had a free day I wanted to rebel and sit around and watch Jon Stewart (it was the Jim Cramer smackdown, after all). Then I looked at my house and thought I really don't want to clean it--that's not the reward for finishing I had in mind! Then I started to think about ideas for my next book and that made me feel better. (That impulse surprised me because it's kind of like asking a woman who just had a baby whether she wants more kids.)

What's strange is that even when I published a previous edition, I did not feel that sense of completion the way I do right now. I wrote the first edition largely in solitude, because the cultural conversation about motherhood had not exploded yet. A lot has happened since 2005, and I wrote the new edition in community, involving and responding to other writers, bloggers, and readers. That's been such a wonderful experience, and now that I have updated the book, it finally feels like the work I always wanted it to be.

I spent nine months working intensively to revise, expand, and update the book. I had to stay on an adrenaline roller coaster to get it done, meeting fast and furious deadlines, so it's no wonder I feel a little disoriented now that I have the week of down-time I have been craving for so long. The trick is to go into down-time without just mindlessly wasting it.

It's also strange that I feel like I've transitioned into "stay-at-home Mom" mode for a short time, just before I go into intensive "working Mom" mode. Just shows you that those labels are too narrow--and perhaps the wrong framework altogether--to describe real life. Today I'm cooking chili, following our shedding dog around with a vacuum cleaner, and driving carpool. In two weeks my husband will step into primary caregiver mode while I focus on the book launch throughout April and May. I like living a life that is full of variety, and defies simple characterization.

So I am about to step onto a new roller coaster--the book release--and see where that takes me. I also know that I need a true break when it's all over. I have a Mom-daughter adventure in the works for this summer, and I will also have a week of solitude (what's that???) when my daughter goes to camp and I park myself on the opposite shore of the same quiet lake. I have not had a week away from hands-on parenting in ten years, or a week alone like this since 1993, before I met my husband. I wish he could be there during the camp week but he's scheduled for a business trip, so I will make the most of the chance to spend time relaxing on my own.

Since I already feel the pushes and pulls of transition, I am also really looking forward to reading Mary Pipher's new book, Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World. She tells her story of what it was like to become famous after her book Reviving Ophelia took off and became a huge success. She eventually experienced a personal crisis and had to craft a quieter life.

Based on what I am feeling right now, I know that the ideas and practices of Buddhism would really benefit me. And wouldn't you know, once again the Quote-of-the-Day widget is telling me a message I really need to hear (again....and again):

Mojo Mom is in this week's Publishers Weekly

Has Facebook made me a lazy blogger? Probably a little bit. It's easy, and useful, to post interesting links to my Mojo Mom Page on Facebook. But I want to make sure I keep up the blog, too!

So here's a blog mention of some really good news for the new Mojo Mom, which comes out in three weeks. The book was mentioned in this week's Publishers Weekly, the industry magazine that publishers, authors, and booksellers read. I was interviewed for Sarah Robbins' feature on "Straight Talk Parenting" spring book releases:

Gotham Books will offer an exploration of women's lifelong relationships with work by a neuroscientist and teacher who faced a crossroads after becoming a mother: “I didn't realize it was going to be an identity crisis for me, leaving behind a career, even for a short period of time,” says Amy Tiemann. She says that Mojo Mom: Nurturing Yourself While Raising a Family is the guide she wished she had. “It's about giving yourself permission to take the time to explore new things and figure out which parts you want to hold on to,” she says.

This is a really big deal for me--it feels amazing to make it into the main industry publication. Gotham Books has been so supportive and active in getting me out there in April and May. A book release has almost become like a movie release: you have about two months to prove yourself rather than one opening weekend, but the book will be largely judged by how well it sells through Mother's Day. So I will be asking my fans to buy the new book in April and May. I've poured my heart into it and I think it turned out really well.

Stay tuned for more developments...and more regular blogging this week. I still have a stack of links on Moms and work a mile high I should be writing on.

Mojo Mom at Quail Ridge Books, Thursday April 30

My first author event for the new Mojo Mom has been scheduled. I'll be speaking at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh on Thursday evening, April 30th at 7:30 pm.

I hope you'll plan to come if you are in the area, and will tell friends who live in the Triangle about the event even if you live far away.

I've created an event announcement over at Facebook, so if you think you'll attend, I'd love it if you'd RSVP over there.

I don't just read from my book at author events. I really like to engage the audience in a dialogue. So I promise I'll do my best to create a fun and thoughtful Moms' Night Out that will help you recharge your mojo!

Official event info:

Hear Amy Tiemann as she presents MOJO MOM: NURTURING YOURSELF WHILE RAISING A FAMILY. Here's the guide for you, to juggling kids, life, and a mom's own needs. Learn how to come out feeling like you're at the top of your game! To request a signed or personalized copy, call 828-1588 or 1-800-672-6789 or contact orders@quailridgebooks.com (at least 48 hours in advance for email) to check availability.

Facebook opens new avenues for connecting with Mojo Mom fans

I was a reluctant Facebook convert, but I've really been grooving on the Mojo Mom Page I have been able to put together over there.

"Pages" are a little different than personal "Profiles." The Mojo Mom Page allows me to connect with my website and book fans, and Pages are viewable by the public so you don't need a Facebook account to see it.

As someone who has invested a great deal of time and money to develop MojoMom.com over the years, it's amazing to see the features that the Facebook page offers. I can post brief thoughts on my wall, photos, video and upcoming events.

The two best thing so far are first, that I can post links to web stories are interesting, but I might not ever have time to blog about; and second, seeing my community of fans develop is like having my blog talking back to me. I like seeing everyone and I love reading your comments on my wall.

So to say thank you, I will be doing several Mojo Mom giveaways through this page as we approach my Mojo Mom book release on April 7th. If you become a fan you'll be eligible for all of my upcoming drawings.

Check it out, and I hope you'll become a fan!

My book is finished!

Imagine that you are a senior in college, graduating in an off semester. You finish your exams, mail in some term papers, and wait. You aren't sure if your professors have finished grading your work, or might ask for a rewrite. There's no graduation ceremony, but one day you ask the registrar the status of your degree and she says you've graduated.

That's sort of what it has been like to finish the new (forthcoming) Mojo Mom. We went through so many rounds of revisions and proofreading that the words eventually swam before my eyes. I thought there might be one more round of proofs, but I just found out that I am done!

So, there's no pomp and circumstance yet--we'll save that for the April 7 pub date. Today it's just me doing a happy dance, and going back to look at the rest of my life, which has been more than a little bit neglected as I raced toward my manuscript deadline. I have to admit that it's overwhelming to look at the "home" work that has accumulated. I definitely need to read Jack Kornfield's book After the Ecstasy, the Laundry. I have piles of laundry, filing, mail, and unread books staring me in the face. Lots of potential to explore and lots of chaos to unravel.

I am definitely burned out and trying to find my way back to myself as soon as possible. There are all sorts of juicy motherhood stories in the blogosphere right now, but I haven't caught the writing spark this week. I am getting on track with creating new episodes of The Mojo Mom Podcast, which feels like a great start.

And I am especially grateful for today's thought from the Mojo Mom Quote-A-Day widget, from one of my favorite Zen teachers, Cheri Huber:



[The widget moves on, but the February 2 quote said, "Be kinder to yourself than you think you should be."]

I selected all of the widget's quotes, so theoretically they shouldn't surprise me, but it does delight me each morning to see the new thought of the day. I can never resist clicking on it. Maybe that means that the seeds of my wonder and curiosity are still in here somewhere!