Shortlisted

  
This post is on a similar theme to the last really. Not so much the horrid, Mean Girl, things we say to ourselves, but our difficulty in taking a moment to share something positive, something that we should be proud of. You may remember a while back, I wrote about being longlisted for the Seraphine Mum’s Voice Award in the Tommy’s Charity Awards. I did the hard bit and asked you to take a moment out of your busy lives, to email a little bit about why I should make it onto the shortlist and you did. I am really delighted to have been shortlisted and will be attending a lovely awards lunch in London in a couple of weeks. 

However, every time I’ve thought of sharing this news with you, who are, after all, the people that made it happen, I cringe. I put a very quick post on Facebook on the day I received the email and that has been all I have been able to do. What is that all about? Like I said, I did the hard bit, actually asking you to do something, so why not share the good news? 

  
It feels like something that happened by accident. As bloggers, we share little snippets of our lives, ranging from kid’s birthdays, to holidays , to what we’re making and little glimpses of our homes. Sometimes, we write posts that go deeper and they are always harder to press the publish button on. We never really know whether they will resonate, but we write our experiences, as women and as mothers. We don’t always get huge feedback. Comments, tweets and retweets are always really welcome and here at least, always give a little rush of pleasure, even after all these years, but we don’t get to see many reactions that our writing may have. I got a small glimpse into that as Tommy’s sent a couple of quotes from the emails they had received. It was really humbling to think that people I have never met bothered to email a few lines to say what my writing had meant to them. 

This whole experience has had me thinking a lot about sharing our stories. Stories that often feel small and insignificant. Today, Sport Relief spent a whole day raising awareness of Parental Mental Health issues, with the hashtag #Mumtalk and it was amazing to see my timeline full of people sharing their stories of ante and post natal depression. Some, like myself were a million miles away from those dark places now, but some where still in the thick of it and their bravery in sharing something so raw took my breath away. 

To us, our stories may feel small, but in a world where so often womens’ and particularly mothers’ voices are drowned out to a mere whisper, it’s important that we tell our truths. I have found myself in the position of being able to have an audience for my truth and that is a real privilege. It also means that sharing my story has made things easier for other people. The fact that I am being recognised for that is also an important part of that story and for that reason, at least, I should shout about it just a little louder. 

So, on March 11th I shall be implementing the world’s most complicated child care plan, so that I can disappear to London for the day and celebrate stories of many other families speaking their own truths, loud and clear. Thank you so much for your support and taking the time to put me in this exciting position.