I was reading Memoirs of a Jewminicana (as I do most days – she is fascinating) and she has posted a video talking about what do us bloggers call ourselves, especially if we do not have other jobs that we get paid for. This was all started by Jew In the City asking the same question on her facebook fan page.
So as I am watching Aliza’s video (love the hair, so envious!!) I started to think about my own answer. For me it is very simple. First and foremost before everything paid or unpaid, I am a mother. It is the most rewarding thing I have ever done in my life, and even if I were a surgeon or President or well known civil rights activist, being a mum would be the accomplishment of which I am most proud.
But it isn’t paid work, being a mother. So does that count? Financially, yes you may be right, but those hugs and kisses and squishes, and “I love you”s make up for that. There is not enough money in the world that could make me as happy and fulfilled as these 4 sons of mine have. I hate the term “homemaker” – makes me picture a 50s woman in an apron and a beehive elbow deep in dishes. I am way more emancipated than that – in thought, if not in action, after all I do wash the dishes and the floors….but no beehive.
So first and foremost I say I am a mother, then I say, “and a writer” (or a blogger, depending on with whom I am speaking). The problem with that is that I have yet to have a book published, so it seems as if it is self aggrandizing, pronouncing oneself a writer, when in reality one should say an unpublished writer. But if they ask further I do say that I am working on a few books in between cooking and cleaning and loads of laundry. My blog takes up time, and I am into social networking, which gives me plenty of writing / blogging fodder. So should I say I am a social butterfly? A twitterer?
I write a lot about Judaism and have helped some people become closer to their religion, Does that make me an outreach professional? I have given some friends and contacts dating advice, does that make me a relationship expert?
My business card is very simple. It has my name and phone number on it, with my blog, Facebook and Twitter addresses. I do not specify what I do – if they check out my links they will know.
I am a proud mommy to four wonderful sons, and I am a writer too.