I met Katherine Stone at BlogHer 2010. We were standing in line waiting to get breakfast at an event and started chatting. Katherine created and runs Post Partum Progress, the most comprehensive and accessible information available on perinatal mental illness for pregnant women and new mothers.
She has essentially made it her life's mission to help mothers with Post Partum Depression get the help they need and let them know they aren't alone.
I've never written about my having post partum depression before - twice - although I talk about it quite openly in real life. The fact is, I've never been able to arrange the words in a way it deserved, hiding my pain behind my humour.
Until now. Katherine has that way about her.
Katherine is hosting the 3rd Annual Mother's Day Rally For Moms' Mental Health on her blog for Mother's Day. For the last three years she has invited women who have experienced post partum depression or those who care about the mental health of mothers to write a “Letter to New Moms”. This year I was one of the people she asked to participate and I'm honoured to be a part of it.
Starting on Saturday night at 12:00 a.m. she will post one letter per hour for 24 hours.
Please spread the word and visit her site this Mother's Day to offer your support to the many women out there who are or may suffer from PPD.
I know what a lonely place that can be and how reaching out can make a difference.
"
I miss my mother deeply. I don't speak about it much, the emotions are too close to the surface and threaten to surge up and overwhelm me at any given time, but the empty space left when she passed away is there every day.
I grew up in a military family and have distinct memories of my father leaving for six months at a time, saying goodbye at the airport and crying so hard I couldn't breathe. As a mother now myself, I can't imagine how difficult it was for my mom to say goodbye, sending him off yet keeping on a brave face for me and my sister while offering us the comfort she probably needed herself. Because I don't know if I could do it, if I would have it in me to be as brave as her. Or as strong.
Normally for Mother's Day, I write about my mom. But this Mother's Day, I'd like to take a moment to honour the people who send their loved ones off while keeping a brave face and offering comfort to children who are too young to understand the importance of what these young men and women are doing. Just like my mom did.
The joy in these homecomings speaks more about the emotional sacrifices these families have made than I ever could ever write here.
"
A month ago, I bought a book for Son No. 1 to teach him the ins and outs about sex.
Ba ha ha ha ha ha..
I ended up buying him this book which is beyond awesome. An hour after giving it to him he was on page 35. Apparently if you want to encourage boys to read, just give them a book about sex and contains all the embarrassing words that will throw them into fits of laughter. Vagina anyone?
While he was reading, I'd ask him if he had any questions or have him explain something to me to make sure he was understanding what he was reading.
And he is. Better than I thought.
Because today while they were getting ready for school, he happened to go in my purse and come across a *ahem* womanly product that's used on a monthly basis. He looked at it and said "I know what you use this for".
And I was all "Really"
*eyes him suspiciously*
And he was all "Ya".
Then Son No. 2 was all "I want to know" so because I wanted to hear what Son No. 1 had to say, I gave him the go ahead to teach his brother about tampons not knowing where the conversation would take us.
I'm all crazy *waves arms around manically* with my parenting skills that way. It's like the wild west around here.
"Well" he said, "It's a tube filled with cotton and a woman inserts it in her vagina *also insert two boys bursting into gales of laughter here* for when her egg doesn't meet up with a seed and then it comes out of her body with a bit of blood and she doesn't want to get her clothes messy".
Pretty accurate, no? Husband and I looked at each other eyes widened, eyebrows raised whilst holding in our laughter.
Then hubby asked Son No. 1 where he learned that and Son No. 1 told us it was from the book I got him.
He then told us he could turn any word into a curse word by adding "hole" to it.
He's right.
I'm pretty sure that wasn't in the book though.
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