Project SAHM

August 10th, 2009 in Monday's Maven

I asked Melissa, this week’s

Monday’s Maven

to tell us more about her Project SAHM because I adore the idea and wanted her to share it with all of you!

My name is Melissa, the creator of Project SAHM (stay at home mom). Growing up, I always wanted to be a mom. In fact, in college I wrote a paper about what I wanted to be, and that was a mother. In 2001 I married the best guy in the world and shortly after I got my lifelong wish and became a mom of the cutest baby boy. Well, wanting to be a mom and actually BEING a mom are two very different things. Nobody warns you how hard it is to be a mom (and if they do, you don’t listen because the desire to be a mom outweighs the reality of it). Twenty months later my baby girl was born into our little family, and that’s when the fun started!

As we lived our lives I looked around at other moms who seemed to really love and enjoy being a mom, and I didn’t. I had a hard time finding the joy and quite honestly was depressed. Now, anyone who has been depressed knows that it cycles. When you’re down you have no motivation to get help, and when you’re up you think you are better. I did this for YEARS and YEARS and finally decided to see my doctor. It turned out I wasn’t going crazy thinking I was depressed, because my hormone levels came back very out of whack! In the midst of getting my hormones back to normal, I would have hard days, weeks…months.

It was one particular month (November, 2006) that was really hard for me. It was cold out and the kids and I stayed inside a lot. I swear I had been in my husbands XXL sweats and his XL sweat shirt all month long! The kids were driving me crazy, I had lost it and I started a blog called “Frumpy mom wants a new outfit” or something to that affect. It was a blog for me to vent about the struggles and challenges of being a mom. As I typed, Oprah played in the back ground. It was her Pay It Forward show. I stopped to watch (in tears), and as Oprah would say, I had an “ah ha” moment! I wanted to somehow surprise stay-at-home moms with a new outfit! I wasn’t sure how, but I wanted to do it! I thought about it and my blog quickly changed from “frumpy mom wants a new outfit” to “Project SAHM.” That’s how it all started. I wanted stay-at-home moms to know they were appreciated.

I set up a simple blog with an area to make donations. My plan was to raise $150 then go to the mall to surprise a stay at home mom, giving her the money to buy herself a new outfit. I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to approach the moms, but I quickly figured that one out.  I told my friends and family about the idea and donations started slowly rolling in. I was soon able to surprise the first mom! I’ve since surprised six other moms, and it’s such a rewarding experience to see see their faces go from shocked, to confused, to smiles as they listen to why I have decided to do Project SAHM. Then, as I get to talk to them and hear their stories about being a mom, I am reminded that we all, as mothers, go through the same challenges and struggles and that being a mom is the hardest and most rewarding job there is.

For me, Project SAHM is more than just giving a mom a new outfit. It’s a (small) way to thank all moms and let them know they are appreciated. The outfit is for fun, the idea is so much more!

Thank you, Melissa, for sharing with us more about your project. I am off to donate!!

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