Journey To Motherhood, my first year being a mama...

January 18, 2013

Like so many people FB has allowed us to reconnect with old friends. When Tammy, my best friend from high school, found me a few years ago I felt a sense of relief. I would search for her but could not find her, I couldn’t recall her married name and we had lost touch so there were no numbers to track her. My sense of relief was about knowing I found this person I was so close to  and shared so many of my teenage experiences with. We both came from difficult home situations and learning about how she was doing, how her life is/ was turning out is important to me. Which happy to have found out -her life is going pretty darn good! So of course she needed to do a Journey for Motherburg and thankfully today she has. Thank you my lovely Tam.

Name: Tammy Hodge
Hometown: Port Hueneme, CA
How long have you’ve been living in Nashville? I have lived in Nashville, TN since June 2011. My husband, two kids, and I moved to the south after having lived in Southern OR for 18 years.
Occupation: Professional Wife, Mom and Friend…free of charge, of course. (And future author)

When did you first Become a Mother? I was 23 when we had our first. A daughter, Kassidi. And then 26 when we had our son, Dakota. They are 19 and 16.

Living in New York many of my friends are in their 30’s and 40’s have their first babies while my friends I grew up such as you had children early 20’s? What would you say about being a mom on the young side? Well, first I would say that I was probably a bit more uptight as a young mom than a woman in her 30’s or 40’s might be. Perhaps that was due to immaturity on my part =) But, my children turned out pretty good and mostly unscathed and they love having parents our age. And I love being a “younger” mom. Although now, at 42, I don’t feel all that young ;)

Before becoming a mother, what did you know about motherhood?  I didn’t have very good examples of motherhood, unfortunately. But I decided when I was nine years old that I would love my daughter differently. And I have.

Was the reality close to your personal image/idea? Ever since I could remember I’ve always dreamed of being married and having two children…one boy - one girl. The many unruly puppies along the way, however, were not in that dream. Now, we have a cat.

How would you describe the first year? This is a loaded question. The first year was very difficult for me. Actually, the first five months were the roughest. I had had some difficult teenage years and was still dealing with the residual of this time. When I became a mother I was still learning to process this hard time while learning to be a wife and mother.

Did you have support such as family or friends? We had several friends with same aged children, so that was helpful at times. We never had family near us while raising our kids so thankfully we had this wonderful group of friends.

Anymore kids-you never know or are you done lady? NO. MORE. Hallelujah!

Tell us about your blog! My blog is called InProgress, http://taminprogress.com The title pretty much explains it…I am in progress. Most of my posts deal with day to day life and how my past weaved into my present and how my present tells the story of my past. I sometimes blog about Mommy stuff and Teenage loveliness and am actually considering gearing InProgress toward a “Mom Of Teens” blog. 

How do your schedule, singing and your blog? I don’t sing anymore. And I am just beginning to pick up blogging again. Right now I am finishing up writing my first book that I am so thrilled about!

Tips for new moms? Sedation. Sedation. Sedation. Ok, really… (but seriously sometimes, yes…sedation) Tips? Breathe. Look around you. Millions of kids survive their mothers every day. You can do this! And don’t be afraid to ask for help. Oh, also…It’s ok to say, No.