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First, I decide that by gum, I’m going to cut back this summer.

So I did. And it’s a good thing I did: this has been a summer of here and there and everywhere, and I would have just failed had I not stepped back first.

Then, I decide that, heaven help me, slicing my blogging schedule to three days a week is what’s right.

(Yes, but…right for who? Well. Keep reading.)

I started this blog as a writing exercise. It’s here because I needed conversation (even if only for the voices in my own head).

I’ve kept it up because I like it. It’s good as a writing exercise for me. As I write more here, I have more ideas for elsewhere (and for here too).

(Yeah, I’m prolific. Or I don’t shut up. I’m okay with however you say it. My nickname in second grade was Big Mouth.)

My latest book is due out at the end of next month, and I’ve had some very good advice about how I can gear things up here on my blog, keywords I can target, ways I can really generate interest of the interwebs.

But you know what?

That’s not what I’m about here. This is MY place. And though I host guest posts, it’s MY sandbox.

I don’t mind SEO. I don’t mind being intentional.

But the reason I’m so impassioned about my writing for women isn’t for the gain. (But paying the bills? This is a nice benefit, don’t we all agree?)

I didn’t write A Catholic Mother’s Companion to Pregnancy because I care a crazy amount about pregnancy, because I long to get pregnant again, or because I want to counsel women at one end or another of that spectrum.

It’s because I’ve been the young mom (still am in so many ways). It’s because I have needed to hear things, and I have, thanks to many of the women who share so generously of their time, their writing, and their wisdom.

That’s what’s on my heart as I introduce you to a new series I’ll be hosting: Mom to Mom.

As women, we have a very special calling to share and support and encourage one another. That’s what A Catholic Mother’s Companion to Pregnancy is about, too. It’s about holding another woman’s hand (more than one, actually, and I hope the Blessed Mother’s is the one you keep hold of!) and trusting her. It’s about the shoulder, the community of femininity, the miracle of our lives intertwined together.

(And yes, also pregnancy. And labor. And baptism.)

So on the one hand, this new series goes very well with my upcoming book. But on the other (more important) hand, I’m hoping it helps you (or someone). For that matter–and I am just selfish enough to admit this out loud here in my bloggy play yard–I know it will help me.

And if you’re interested in contributing, contact me. If you have a topic you’d like to see me cover, let me know.

Now, ‘scuse me. I have to go check on the littles. They’ve been quiet entirely too long…