Lawyer Mama

Moms Inspired to Change History

8 Women Making a Difference

by Joanne Bamberger aka Pundit Mom

They refer to us as soccer moms. TV commercials still show mothers, not the fathers, as the ones wiping up spills and wiping noses. As important as parenting is, plenty of mothers have more on their agendas -- they're finding their own ways to make their mark and change the world. Here are eight we found particularly inspiring.

Stephanie Himel-Nelson and Vivian Greentree, Blue Star Families
Stephanie Himel-Nelson and Vivian Greentree, each a mother of two young sons, were never political activists until the 2008 presidential campaign. Both had connections to the armed services, though, and wanted to help highlight the many issues faced by military families. From the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, both women played integral roles of Blue Star Families for Obama (BSF4O) -- Greentree as the group's director for leadership, and Himel-Nelson as deputy outreach director.

Read more at MSN....

Now personally, I think Joanne should have included herself in this article.

Life, Love & Welcome Midwestern Readers!

Welcome my new Midwestern readers, particularly one from Marshalltown, Iowa.  Feel free to look around.  Just remember that I don't tolerate nastiness in my comments.

Yes, there's something going on.  No, I don't want to write about it on my blog yet.  Other people are involved.  People I care about and love.

Love is a funny thing, isn't it?  I remember being freaked out about having a second child so soon after Hollis.  People kept reassuring me by saying that my capacity for love wasn't a pie.  There isn't a finite amount in my heart to be doled out among the people I care about.  Rather, the heart is a flexible muscle that expands as needed.

Maybe for some people the heart contracts as well, but that's never been the case for me.  Once I love, I love fiercely and deeply.  It's not something that ever goes away.  My husband, god bless him for the saint he is, understands this about me.  in fact it's something that he tells me he loves about me.  Others have too.  Unfortunately, my capacity to love can also hurt.

For those I've hurt over the years and more recently, I'm sorry.  It was never intended.  I would never intentionally try to hurt someone.  I may be thoughtless, react or lash out in anger, but I never try to hurt.

Whatever happens in the months to come, the two people I always keep in my mind are Hollis and Holden.  I'm thankful that they're too young to know what, or even that, something is happening.  I will always have their well being first and foremost in my mind.  No one has the right to second guess that, to feel sorry for them or to judge my parenting, least of all those who don't have children.

It's hard for me not to write more, but I'm respecting the privacy and feelings of others for now.  Until we all know what comes next, I'll keep living my life, loving my children and stopping to just breathe whenever my thoughts are overwhelming. 

The heart is a muscle.  And it keeps beating, despite the pain.

Blue Star Families Survey 2.0

On Monday I had the opportunity to appear on the show What Vets Need to Know on 91.7 VMFM.  The hosts Hal and Geoff were gracious and fun and let me ramble on and on about Blue Star Families and a new survey we have out right now.

The survey is version 2.0 of the survey we did in the Fall of 2008, following up and making our research a little more complete.  We're doing this in conjunction with our partners, the National Military Family Association, the USO, the American Red Cross, Military.com, and MilSpouse.com.

If you are a military family member - parent, spouse, child, or sibling - please take a moment and take the Blue Star Family Survey.  Pass it on to other military family members so we can reach as many people as possible, particularly those often neglected military reserve and national guard family members.

If you'd like to hear me on What Veterans Need to Know, look no further.

Season 3, Show 7 - March 9, 2009

Cutest Singer Ever!

These are the Mommy Moments that make it all worth while.

I know, I know. I haven't been writing on Lawyer Mama. But look here:

Steph on MOMocrats

Steph on D.C. Metro Moms

Steph on Blue Star Voices