But Be Warned: I Won’t Be Nearly This Blissful or Coherent When I’m Gettin’ Up Six Times A Night

By Megan

About Me

Hey y’all, I’m Megan, 40-year-old career-woman-gone-stay-at-home-Mama to the nuttiest, sweetest little three-year-old girl on the planet (Bean), and pregnant with a tiny son we’ve dubbed Peanut, who’s due in approximately 15 minutes.

(Oh alright, he’s actually due in another four weeks or so. But that was fun, wasn’t it? That brief moment of thinking I might actually live-blog a birth right here in my first post? Don’t think I wouldn’t do it, though — it’s crossed my mind more than once. Mama will do anything for ratings.)

As I mentioned in my bio on our Meet the Parents page, I grew up in South Carolina and currently find myself living in the Chicago suburbs with my husband, Al, who’s a native Georgia boy. So far we love our life here and feel enormously thankful for the opportunity to soak up some good old friendly Midwestern down-to-earthiness and share the best parts of our own unique Southern culture with new friends and neighbors. They’ve taught us about neighborhood bonfires on summer nights, locally-grown sweet corn and snow-blowers, and we’ve taught them about pimiento-cheese, boiled peanuts and college football. Ahem.

On Parenting

I’m still relatively new to parenting and so far don’t find myself married to any one particular parenting philosophy or strategy. Instead I listen and try to assimilate the wisdom of fellow parents, like my sister, Jackie, who’s blazed the parenting trail for me by surviving five pregnancies, births and newbornhoods, and stays about nine years ahead of me at all times since her eldest child is twelve. Jackie’s also pointed me in the direction of such other parenting gurus as John Rosemond, Burton White, and well, God, all three of whom have written extensive and well-researched volumes on the intricacies of keeping children alive, happy, healthy, and reasonably nice to be around most of the time, which by and large covers the biggest chunks of my personal parenting manifesto.

Of course Al’s an important source of advice and know-how, as he has two older children — my stepkids — along with a million stories and anecdotes about his own mother who did an amazing job of raising him in less-than-perfect conditions. And my own Mom, too — my firmly-grounded, resourceful, spunky mother, who bravely made the tough-Mama choices, called the unpopular maternal shots, and even refused to have cable television or even a microwave in her home until long after I was grown and gone. Mom taught me and continues to teach me that values and character matter more than popularity, acceptance or, apparently, really good, fast popcorn, and she’s provided tremendous support and guidance in word and deed as I’ve learned to stand on my own maternal feet.

I also listen to myself and to my daughter. God chose Bean and me for one another and has built a natural bond between the two of us that nobody else can duplicate or share. I listen to the counsel of family, friends and experts, yet over the past three years I’ve learned to filter every piece of advice I get, every pointer or tip I read, through this naturally discerning heart God has given me for understanding my own child, her unique personality and distinct needs.

The times I’ve been most proud of and confident in myself as a mother have been the times I’ve blended conventional wisdom with my own deep knowledge of my daughter and come up with an original solution or strategy just for the two of us.

I can’t wait to get to know our new little guy and develop this same bond with him – the bond that’ll help me be the mother he needs to become the person he’s supposed to be.

Parenting – the highest honor and the ultimate responsibility. To me, it’s already been the source of my life’s greatest challenges and joys, and I’m delighted to be here to share my on-going experiences with each of y’all.

Megan blogs regularly about parenting, the South, comfort food and many other great things in life at FriedOkra.