Suburban Goddess Mom

Marna a pleasure connecting with you on social media. Tell me a little about you and Suburban Goddess Mom?

Let see… I am 37 years old, divorced two years, mother of two (6 yr old boy, Brayden, and 8yr old girl, JoJo).  I have a serious life partner named Chris, who has given me a second chance at true love.  In addition, I am a bit of a wild, untamed energy/free spirit. As a result, tattoos, piercings, crazy colored hair are part of my repertoire.  Similarly, I am a self-described mess and constant work in progress.  I am unabashedly me.  I have been blogging as The Suburban Goddess Mom for 5 months. The blog is a brutally honest account of my journey, transformation, and struggles. In conclusion, those who know me personally say it sounds just like me talking. 

What motivated you to start Suburban Goddess Mom?

I started my blog after posting on Facebook about a kick-ass day I was having.  It was one of those days where I felt like the best mother on earth.  The post read, “Today I feel like a suburban goddess mom and it’s only 9:30. Woke up at 6, made Chris his breakfast and lunch, cuddled with Brayden who woke up early, showered and washed my hair, I am dressed in non-workout clothes, woke JoJo, got both kids dressed, fed them breakfast, did JoJo’s hair for a change, played two games with Brayden, getting kids to school on time, grocery shopped, went to Starbucks.  And I will spend the rest of the day at school talking about Hanukah.  Some days are like this and some days I wear PJs all day and get nothing done.  But today I am patting myself on the back!!!”  In conclusion, the feeling of writing this and the response to it compelled me to start the blog. 

Talk to me about some of the challenges of starting a blog?

The biggest challenge for me with starting the blog is doing all the things that don’t bring me joy and that are not fun about blogging.  Setting up websites, formatting, etc.  After struggling through it for maybe a month I began outsourcing those tasks to a Virtual Assistant.  Which allows me to write, work on social media engagement and interactions.  I love it!

Why do you like writing?

I have always loved writing.  I remember writing pages and pages of stories in elementary school.  Even in high school I always took creative writing very seriously. I spent I think three summers taking creative writing classes at Skidmore, Oxford, Sarah Lawrence, and Williams College.  I wish I had gone to college for writing but was influenced to do something practical, teaching. Which I did for 8 years and I am now back to writing.  

Help me understand what motherhood has taught you?

I am not naturally inclined to motherhood.  I am not the vision of perfection. However, I am strong and I can do anything. My mother was the most amazing woman on earth. 

Walk me through Portland, a reason to visit and some good restaurants? 

I moved to Portland, Maine two years ago after my divorce.  It is a beautiful city, affordable compared to other places I have lived and the majority of people here are strong, unique, kind, and accepting.  Maine is known for its natural beauty; waterfront and woods.  It is the place to come for seafood especially Lobster.  Although I do not get to eat out very often, my top three restaurant choices are The Great Lost Bear (pub with tons of beer choices), Tiqa (Mediterranean food downtown), and Becky’s Diner (its where the fisherman all go).

Life is tough and challenging. Tell me something challenging you have been through and how did you deal with it?

I was in an extremely abusive and controlling marriage for ten years.  And one day I had just had enough and filed for divorce.  I moved 4 and a half hours away and started a new life.  At first, I dealt with it by being strong for my kids, pulling up my big girl panties and doing what needed to be done, then I dealt with it with alcohol, pot, and sex, and then finally I dealt with it with intensive therapy and tons of work on myself and introspection.

Life is incredibly tough, challenging, and unfair.  My life certainly proves that. I deal with all of it by therapy, spiritual practices, writing about it, finding things to be grateful for, acknowledging things suck and it is not fair, and constant support from my friends and partner.

On the lighter side, I want a good joke.

I am not much of a joke person.  Mostly I say and do dumb stuff or participate in witty banter.  This one is from my daughter:

Did you hear the story about the piece of butter?

Never mind. I don’t want to spread it around.