Life is Better Shared.

Think back on some of your favorite moments.  Why are those moments so special?  What part of the memory makes you feel warm and fuzzy when you think of it?  It’s probably not the place, or the things, that make our memories stay with us forever.  It’s the people that we shared the moment with.  Holidays, birthdays, random snow-day snuggles with our littlest ones…none of those moments would be the same if they weren’t shared with the people that we love.

Life is better shared.  Wouldn’t you agree? For the happiest things in life (announcing engagements, pregnancies, new jobs…), often the first thing we do is pick up our phone and call (or, these days, text) all of our favorite people to share the news.  The same goes for the not-so-happy moments.  When, God forbid, we lose a loved one, a dear pet, or possibly that job we were so excited to announce, again our first instinct (and the healthiest choice, by the way) is to share our pain with the people who love us enough to cry, hug, and ask “why?” with us.

In August of 2008, I became a mommy for the first time.  It was, and remains to be, one of the most amazing moments of my life (duh!).  A mother’s love for her children could never be described in words.  However, 21 months later as I welcomed my second baby, I realized that there were some parts of this motherhood journey that could be described in words (exhaustion, confusion, helplessness, borderline insanity…), and yet I didn’t really have anyone to share those words with.  Or, at least not anyone who was feeling those words alongside me (note: my husband was alongside me, but he could never, nor would he want to, understand the hormonal, emotional mess that is a new mother).  I needed some mommy friends.

Cue the Quad City Moms Blog.  A friend from high school contacted me about being a contributing writer, and my heart leapt for joy.  Passionate about writing for as long as I can possibly remember, any chance to let my words out on paper was a breath of fresh air.  And the best part? I would be part of a team of writers, who just happened to be mommies!  Just like me!  Finally, an opportunity to share this journey—this exhausting, exhilarating, exciting journey—with someone who really.does.understand.  After meeting my new “mommy friends”, I felt a sense of community, of understanding, of sisterhood, that I had never expected, nor could I ever begin to explain to them what they have meant to me.

About two months ago, while sleep-deprived (did I mention I just had another baby??) and covered in papers that needed to be graded for work the next day, I had the brilliant-yet-insane idea to bring this amazing community, this Moms Blog, to my beloved Iowa City.  I wanted to share this feeling, this movement, in an area where I think moms could really use this sense of understanding, this sisterhood that we now have in the Quad Cities. The wheels started turning, and my husband quickly (to my surprise) was on board with the idea.  I knew, however, that I would not share this Moms Blog with the Iowa Citians unless a certain someone, an Iowa City mama herself, would join me on the journey.  Cue my dear childhood friend Kaitlyn.  A mommy of two, a loving force in her church family, a fellow lover of writing, and someone who just happens to be a part of my happy memories that I mentioned at the beginning of this post.  If Kaitlyn wasn’t in, then Iowa City would just have to wait.

Fast forward two months.  Two whirlwind, crazy, never-sent-so-many-emails-in-my-life months.  Today, April 1^st, is the launch of the Iowa City Moms Blog.  Co-founders: yours truly, and, you guessed it, Kaitlyn!  We are far beyond excited to share this new journey, both with each other and with all of YOU, the moms, moms-to-be, and aspiring moms of the Iowa City area.  From this day forward, you are welcome here. Bring your happy memories, your not-so-happy moments, your hopes and fears.  Our team of writers will be bringing ours, too, and we are hoping for many “that’s exactly how I feel!” moments.  After all, life is better shared.