What Every Mama Needs - a Plea for Community {Mindful Mothering Mondays}

It's been a few days since our little Rosie joined us, and we're upstairs napping the afternoon away.  Downstairs, Jason slides dinner into the oven - dropped off by friends who stopped by to admire the baby and help in any possible way.  Outside, my brother and sister in law are playing with my big kids - schoolyard games in the sunshine.

These days have been full of blessings, from the texts, phone calls and facebook messages of congratulations and encouragement down to the basic care of my family.  My community has stepped in, and it makes all the difference.  I think about it, after my sister in law shows up to wipe down my bathrooms and make sure laundry is going well.  My community supports not just me, but my sleep deprived husband, checking on him during this week when he's tossed into caring for five small children and an out-of-commission wife.  Friends call on the way to the grocery, checking in to make sure we don't need anything.  Boxes of baby clothes appear as if by magic. One of my best friends shows up at bedtime and supervises my kids brushing their teeth and slipping into jammies.  I sit on the couch nursing Rosie and offer up a prayer of gratitude.  We are taken care of, every one of us.

People ask me how I do it.  Just how, in this world, this culture of separate lives and cutthroat ambition, how I can have this life.  6 babies under ten years old.  The truth is, my community makes all of the difference.  As such, it is something I desperately wish for every Mama, everywhere.  A community of loving people who are willing to do the work of serving.  Not just when new babies arrive, but in the not-so-happy times, too.  When a relative dies, or someone receives a devastating diagnosis.  There are so many ways to bless people - so why are we culturally just not that good at it?  I look down at baby Rosie and feel so blessed that I can feel confident in receiving her and not worry about all the rest right now, knowing that we will be well cared for.  Every Mom deserves that.  Every Mom should have that.

It isn't a matter of cost, but a matter of worth.  Globally, cultures and communities manage this.  Families with  seemingly nothing to offer others, barely scraping by on their own, they manage to be a blessing to one another.  So why, here in America, do we feel so cut off?  Why, in our ultra-connected society, are we so alone?  I believe it's because we do not value this until we need it.  We don't have time for service when we are so busy building our own lives, only to find that when we need help, there is none to be found.  It is time for us to invest in one another.  It's time to build community with one another, sharing the blessings and burdens of real life, allowing ourselves to be vulnerable and to admit that we need one another.

My community has been built in a few ways - one way by no work of my own, simply by being born into a large, close knit family.  But the other is a way that everyone can build a community - and that is by being the community.  Stepping out and creating it encourages others to join in, to be the blessing.  And from there, it just grows.  Each member may be able to just do one thing - bring one meal or take the big kids for one morning.  But as more people join in, the blessings multiply - and the community becomes this great net of support for all families involved.

With technology, it is becoming easier than ever.  My friend Amy organized meals for us by using Mealbaby.com and sending the sign up to our homeschool co-op.  Within hours, my email inbox was filled with notifications of dinners being brought over the next few weeks.  One less thing for Jason and myself to have to think about during this precious but often overwhelming time of life.

I'm a believer that a proper community can enrich the lives of all involved, and make it possible for us to have more of the good things in life.  More love, time, family.  Every Mama needs that.

{It's Mindful Mothering Mondays, a day to take a deep breath and write out your mothering journey, whatever form it takes. A day to link up for encouragement from others who are in this same phase of life. A day of writing out the trials and triumphs and what you're learning right where you are, right now.

You might post recent struggles or thoughts. Maybe just a picture or a quote. Or maybe you'll just come here and read the links that others post. Whatever form your participation takes, this is a day for you.
We are all in this, together. Together, we can encourage and build one another up, be honest with our shortcomings and strengthened by community to keep fighting the good fight.

I chose Mondays because what Mama doesn't need a little encouragement on a Monday? As such, I'll have the link up ready to go on Sunday night for you to begin submitting your links.

I hope you'll meet with me each Monday! Here's what to do ~

Link up your post below. Remember to put the link to the exact post you want to link, and not just your blog url. Include in your post a link back here so others who want to join in can find us! And visit some other Mamas who have linked up.

Post the community graphic within your post, so people who are reading your Mindful Mothering post can come back here and find the rest of us!

Invite the writers of your favorite blogs to join in!

Share this meme with others on facebook and twitter. This community is for all moms, and the more that participate, the more we will be able to enjoy!!}

Grab the graphic here:

<center> <a href=”http://smalltownsimplicity.blogspot.com/“><img border=”0″ src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33nGWFb2YqBvZ2ZS-TaTwYSjYhNzQ5TsyXZbHO49CfTNnySLTZOjvSMRm6W3UVvixj_M5Aw9t17wSLFFAts22_rNk_9q4xVEQQ2GUcjevwiaR2i0wM5QN4BbX-4mcMEgI7jlHcruJtv3E/s1600/MMgraphic.png"/></a></center>

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