We are moms. We have that in common, but that’s probably about it. Some of you are stay-at-home moms, others are work-at-home-moms, some work part-time and others (like me) work full-time. Some of us juggle freelance projects (like this one for me). Some of us volunteer. Some of us take care of aging parents of special needs children. But the one important fact of life that moms often take for granted is that it is important to make time and take time for themselves.
I’m guilty of folding laundry while watching my favorite shows rather than just basking in a half-hour of dumb comedy. I’m guilty of working on freelance articles while watching my children in the bathtub rather than watching them splash around and taking in their toddlerhood. I’m guilty of checking email while cooking dinner, cleaning the bathroom and dusting my living room furniture. However, in recent months, I’ve found that there is one thing I can do that prevents me from multitasking.
Read.
I have six magazine subscriptions and read a number of blogs on a daily basis. That’s not exactly what I mean. A good story, something I can get lost in, picturing characters and scenery and imagining what might happen next, that takes me away. I can’t read and watch TV. I can’t fold laundry and read. About the only thing I can do is possible run on the elliptical machine, but, well, I’m not that motivated.
But now we can motivate each other. Detroit Mommies.com is please to introduce an online book club. Each month or so, we will select a book with some form of reading schedule. During that week, we will post questions and comments and enable an online discussion for our readers and ourselves. We might have special video conference sessions with authors or author comments to our discussions. We hope you will want to be a part of this unique opportunity. We know you are all pressed for time. Here is a way to make time for yourself and engage with other moms.
Starting Feb. 1, 2011, we will read the book “The Girls from Ames,” written by local author Jeff Zaslow. The book is a story of women from the town of Ames, Iowa who have been friends for 30-plus years and have survived many changes in their lives, yet they are all still friends.
Recently, at a lecture, Zaslow said things really got interesting when he delved into their pasts and they let him read journals and diaries and the girls wrote nasty things about each other or conflicting versions of a story.
I’m looking forward to reading it with. I heard Zaslow speak recently and if his books are anything like his speaking abilities, it’ll be a great read.
I’m also not made of money. I know books can be expensive to buy, read once and then put on a shelf. I’ve become familiar with my local library, the library in the city where I work (some libraries will give you a card if you work in the municipality), and another library that my grandmother belongs to–she got me a card. I reserve books online and pick them up on my way home from work. I download audiobooks and e-books. Check out those resources for books first. You can also buy the books used on Amazon.
If you have trouble getting the book, or would like to join in but won’t have the book by Feb. 1, just let me know. I’d like to get an idea of who is going to join in the discussions. If you are considering it, leave a comment or send me an email and let me know what you think. I’m also open to book suggestions for the future. I’m sort of a chick-lit or comedy sort-of reader so I think taking book suggestions will really open the doors to what I am reading.
Take some time for yourself. Enjoy a good book. Then enjoy some friendly discussions with moms from all over the area.
