Motherhood and Isolation: “we need each other.”

Motherhood and Isolation: “we need each other.” March 6, 2015

"Motherhood" by Eurico Zimbres, via WikimediaCommons
“Motherhood” by Eurico Zimbres, via WikimediaCommons

by Sherry Antonetti

Mary Lou Rosien tweeted, “Married about 25 years: 19,500 loads of laundry, cooked about 10,000 meals, and scrubbed 4000 toilets. I need a Catholic conference for moms.” She’s part of a group of 27 men and women who have contributed talks to this online conference designed to refresh and renew women in their vocation as mothers.

These fifteen minute or less Mom “TED-type” talks are the result of a year-round effort by Tami Kiser, and some of her family and friends. I love Tami’s own words about the inspiration for this online event. “I saw a conference like this online for something else, and I said to myself, “This would be a great idea for Catholic moms…it is my goal that moms will be encouraged and strengthened through this conference. It is also my hope that these presentations can be used in moms’ discussion groups or the catalyst for new moms’ discussion groups to form. We all need our Savior, but we also need each other.”

Most moms can’t go on retreats, but we can listen to a friend talk to us for a few minutes while we eat, or fold socks. Full disclosure: I am a talk-participant, but having read over the speakers and their topics, there is not a person in the list, I would not want to have in my home, or count as a friend.

These talks are from mothers and grandmothers, mothers with children who have special needs, and new moms who know how crazy the toddler life can be or teens. They are from dads who struggle to raise young men and women with a proper sense of chastity in the age of the internet, and there are talks on food and how feasting can be a road to salvation. There is a talk on Lenten observances of meals, on prayer, on being Catholic, on the stresses of parenting, on creating a vision for where you are going, and on studying and discovering the truth about marriage through scripture.

These talks are funny, profound, experienced and short enough to enjoy without feeling overwhelmed.

One must register to hear the talks but that is a painless and free process that begins today and runs through March 9th. Just sign up here and then check out the speakers of the day; pull up a talk or two, or three. Discussion guides are available after the conference has ended.

What a great resource, not just for mothers, but for all Catholics living within the family of faith. Thanks to Tami Kiser for thinking about how busy mom-life is, and often we need to hear the wisdom of a good friend who is also “in the trenches”, so we can take on the vocation of Catholic parenthood, refreshed and renewed.

sherry antonetti Sherry Antonetti is a former special educator and currently a freelance writer and mother of ten. She writes at Catholicmom.com and her blog, Chocolate For Your Brain, and has contributed several pieces to Patheos.com. Email her at sherryantonettiwrites@yahoo.com.


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