Parents and Parents-to-be on Pinterest

If you've checked out the social media website Pinterest, you've no doubt discovered that there is a massive (and growing) community of parents and parents-to-be eagerly swapping advice on everything from pregnancy to breastfeeding to baby play ideas to mindful parenting to positive parenting to (misc) family to gardening for kids -- and so much more. (If you can think of a kid-related topic, someone is pinning on that topic.) 

Having a Baby Pinterest Board by Ann Douglas (annmdouglas)Early childhood educators/teachers, homeschoolers/unschoolers, childbirth educators, doulas, breastfeeding activists, environmental activists, non-profits, and others working to create a better world for chlidren also contribute to the huge mix of valuable information available via the site.

It is a great place to connect with others who share the same passions as you do, whether you're interested in books, creative upcycling, or you're simply looking for a few thought-provoking words to kickstart your day.

Just one word of warning. The site is just as addictive as it is inspiring. Have fun with it -- if you dare.

And if you're already pinning on Pinterest and you're pinning on topics related to pregnancy and parenting (or of interest to families with young children), perhaps you could share some of your favourite boards -- either ones that you've created or ones that you've spotted -- in the comments section below. I'd love to check out some of your favourites.

Where I Found My Bliss at Blissdom

It would be impossible to capture everything that happened at BlissdomCanada in a single blog post, so I'm not even going to try. I'm going to focus, instead, on some moments that really stood out for me. (I'm sure you have your own list of stand-out moments, too. I've already read quite a few.) 

• Meeting and/or reconnecting with Truly Awesome People (T.A.P.). (T.A.P.: You know who you are. I don't want to list names because there are so many of you and I don't want to risk leaving anyone out. But if we connected in a powerful way, there's no need to list your name. You know and I know that a connection was made and that we'll be keeping in closer contact from now on.)
• Facilitating a workshop on writing with co-panelists Jen Reynolds (editor, Canadian Family), Nadine Silverthorne (online editor, TodaysParent.com and CanadianParents.com), and Theresa Albert (YourFriendinFood.com), all of whom were extremely generous in sharing their wisdom and experiences. Jen even issued a writing challenge to those attending the workshop. (Don't forget to get those submissions in, everyone.)
• Watching the amazing and inspiring film Miss Representation. I thought I was fully up to speed in terms of the messages our culture is sending young women, but I was wrong. Miss Representation spells out who is benefitting from the manufacture of toxic images of young women -- images that are causing harm to both our daughters and our sons by making it more difficult for them to enjoy healthy relationships with one another. It's a powerful call to action for anyone who cares about children and youth; and who would like to see the media embrace more inclusive images of women. 
• Attending the opening reception at the CBC Broadcast Centre. It's no secret that I'm a bit of a CBC fan. (Okay, I'm a major CBC fan. My CBC bag is on the floor at my feet. My CBC mug is on the dish rack in the kitchen. My Friends of Canadian Broadcasting Calendar is hanging on my office wall. I think you get the picture.) So, as you can imagine, I was thrilled to learn that CBC was hosting the BlissdomCanada opening reception. I had the chance to meet Jeff Douglas of As It Happens, to get my photo taken in front of Mr. Dressup's Treehouse, and to talk about the future of the CBC with some people from the programming side of things. What a great kickoff to the conference.
• Seeing the political/activist side of BlissdomCanada emerge throughout the conference -- and particularly during the final panel discussion on Saturday afternoon. As I noted from the floor when Catherine Connor invited me to comment on the discussion as it was developing, "Everything about our lives as women is political." It only makes sense that political issues kept coming up again and again during such an idea-filled and inspiring weekend. I look forward to watching the conversation continuing online and at future conferences.

So what were my takeaways from the weekend?

• I'd love to see BlissdomCanada launch a political/activist programme track for conference attendees next year. Because I don't think it's fair to suggest to others that they do such-and-such without offering to put some volunteer power behind a particular request, I've offered to help work on such an initiative, should the conference organizers decide to proceed in such a direction. 
• I'm going to follow my own advice and start setting aside regular blocks of time each week to work on some writing initiatives that matter hugely to me. (If you heard me speak about writing, you know that the "one piece of potentially career-altering advice" that I offered to BlissdomCanada attendees was to start making time to do the type of writing you really want to be doing right now. If you would like to join me in responding to this writing challenge, please feel free to follow me on my Ann Douglas Facebook page (which focuses on writing and writing resources), where I'll be posting updates re: my progress and where I'd love to hear updates re: your own progress toward your own writing goals. 
• I also learned this weekend that I want to do more speaking -- both about writing and about parenting. I have a bunch of brand new ideas for presentation and workshop topics. Stay tuned for more about that in the weeks and months ahead. 

A snapshot from the costume party. I'm dressed up as Little Miss Happy, wearing a donated tiara. My friend is @dinnerwithjulieFinally, I am grateful to be feeling so good again. The fact that I was able to enjoy BlissdomCanada so much (even attending a costume party -- something I couldn't have even imagined doing a few years ago, when I was still immersed in a deep, dark depression) tells me how far I've come in creating a new and vastly improved life for myself. That makes me feel proud and strong. After all, it takes courage and strength to come back from a major depression.

I'm so happy to be back -- and so grateful to be able to be getting out and enjoying life again. That's where I found my bliss at BlissdomCanada -- in a sense of gratitude for the here and now.

My Parenting Village

It’s one thing to want to have a baby. It’s quite another thing to become a parent. I learned that lesson the hard way within weeks of giving birth to my first child.

Julie was everything I had dreamed of and so much more: a picture-perfect newborn who also happened to be colicky.

I would plead with her. “Just take a short nap. Please. I need to get some sleep.” But she was too little to understand and too wired to succumb to sleep herself. Each time she would cry, I would join in.

[ essay continues at LifeChangeNetwork.com ]