Causes.

I believe in a lot of things.  I support many causes.  In fact, in 2008 I got this awareness ribbon tattoo on my wrist, but I didn't even pick a color because I couldn't narrow it down to just one cause.  Some days I would want it yellow to support the troops...or suicide prevention.  Other days I would want it teal for sexual assault awareness...or lately food allergy awareness.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would become an advocate for food allergy awareness!  A few people have joked, "if you can't pick just one color, why not get them all?!"  To which I respond, "that would be a cause in itself...LGBT or even Autism Spectrum Disorder."  I support those, too, but again I can't pick just one.  So, a blank canvas it remains. 

I've had an itch to do something fun and unique with this blog for a while now, but I just couldn't put my finger on it.  I follow quite a few blogs and I always love the freshness of guest posting on them (when a friend, colleague, etc. writes a post for the blogger).  Recently, one of my very favorite bloggers started a really cool series entitled Moms Make It Work, which "allows us to peek into the lives of other moms that 'make it work."  Reading the variety of stories and perspectives has been great and it was just the kick I needed to figure out what I wanted to do on my own blog.

I have lined up a variety of guest posters (with room for more, the more the merrier - contact me if interested!) who will be sharing their personal stories with causes they support during their respective awareness months/weeks/days.  I have tried to give the writers very little guidance other than to make it personal.  We can all find statistics and general information in books and online, but putting a face to something has an entirely different impact.  Just like I never saw myself as a food allergy awareness advocate or, honestly, a military/military family advocate, here I am.  Most of these people fell into their advocacy roles by chance, too. 

I realize there is not enough time in the day to be a full fledged advocate of every cause out there.  You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one... But seriously, I get it.  What we can do is take the time to think outside ourselves for a moment and have some compassion and understanding for people who are walking a different path than we are.  A friend recently posted this quotation online, "Privilege is when you think something is not a problem because it's not a problem to you personally." Until I became a military girlfriend (then fiancée then wife), or saw domestic violence and sexual assault happening to people I knew, or had a kid with severe food allergies, or witnessed blatant inequality for LGBT loved ones, I had no reason to truly and adamantly stand behind any of these causes.  But when it becomes personal, it becomes very real...and very powerful.  Of course, we can't all donate big money (any money?!) to food allergy research or domestic violence centers, and often even giving our time is easier said than done.  However, we'd be doing the world a great service by taking a moment to just hear people out.  Sometimes that's the biggest help of all.

So, sit back and enjoy the sharing.  I know I will.

To see a list of all the posts in this series, click on the "Causes" tab under the photo banner at the top of the page.