ABOUT ME

Thank you for choosing Mom and Her Goals. As a loving mother with one very rambunctious 15-year-old, I started this site for one reason: to show that being a woman is not a one-dimensional job.

Yes, I’m a mom—but I’m also so much more.

Ladies, I’m sure you know exactly what I mean. If you’re like me—and I’m sure you are—you wouldn’t trade motherhood for a world. It’s a blessing. It’s life-changing.

But it’s not all you are. We’re also Staceys and Jills. We’re accountants and English teachers. We’re lovers and dreamers.

As for me, I’m Gladys, a blogger, full-time worker, and single mom looking to share her passions with the world. Through my blog, I hope to share with you what I’ve learned about balancing being a mom with all one’s life goals.

But first, I’d like to tell you a bit of my story …

Who I Am

To say that I understand the struggles of being a mother is an understatement. I became a single mother at the ripe-old age of sixteen. Now, nearly sixteen years later at the age of 31, not much has changed.

Yes, I have watched my son grow from a baby to nearly a man, but at the end of the day, I’m still Gladys. I’m a woman who holds down a full-time job to support her family while pursuing my dreams on the side. And though my dreams have changed in some ways and grown in others, I remain a multi-faceted person.

Unfortunately, society is all-too-quick to judge me as a single mom.

Now, don’t get me wrong: I love being a mother. I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world—and though there have been ups and downs, I’m proud of my job and the son I have raised.

But I feel as if it’s time we start seeing women as more than just one thing. Maybe that’s because “being a mom” doesn’t have just one meaning.

What does being a mom mean to you? Giving birth? That’s certainly part, but not all of it.

Loving your child? Sure, but that’s not quite everything, either.

As all mothers know, trying to shoebox motherhood into being just one thing just doesn’t work.

What Motherhood Means to Me

As I reflect on my own motherhood experience, I can think of many instances where being a mother required me to be so much more. As the mom of a child whose father was in jail, I learned at an early age the true meaning of responsibility.

I also learned that life has a way of making you put your dreams on the back burner.

Over the course of my blog, you may often hear me reference my own experience as a single mom raising a Hispanic son. To say that my transition into becoming a responsible mother was turbulent is an understatement.

But somewhere during the rollercoaster of motherhood, I learned more about love, life, and myself than I ever quite bargained for.

I also learned that being a good woman means more than being a good mother—and that often times these two terms overlap.

As a single mother, I quickly learned to juggle many types of responsibility. I found myself kicked out of my home and a high school dropout all while trying to raise my new baby. Quickly, I managed to secure employment, and over time I even held more than one job at a time to make ends meet.

Already, however, I realized that being a mother and being a full-time worker couldn’t be very easily balanced. And as my career grew, my relationship with my son began to fall apart.

As I got older, I began to incur more problems that didn’t result from my motherhood—but that certainly did affect it. It was during this time that I learned that anything I did as a woman had the potential to affect me as a mother.

Now, for us women, this is a scary realization, as it comes with a lot of responsibility. And as I plodded through a damaged relationship with my son with the burden of this realization on my back, I decided once and for all to right my ways.

It wasn’t easy, but now I can say that I’m proud of where I am in life. I’ve come to value myself as both a person and a mother and enjoy a wonderful bond with my son.

Through my blog, I hope to reach out to other mothers to show how I learned to juggle motherhood with my other responsibilities. To do so, I look to finally draw the fine line between being a mother and being a woman.

By showing how I managed to juggle my hectic life, I hope to help other women in the same boat. Ladies, trust me: I know just how difficult it can be putting your life on hold to raise your children. Now, I want to show you how you can start achieving your dreams while also succeeding as a mother.

Though society may tell us that these two notions are mutually-exclusive, I am living proof that they are not. I intend to show you just how you can start living your dreams and balance your personal life with your roles as a mother.

Ladies, I Want You to Think …

What did you want to be when you grew up? A doctor? A nurse? Maybe a veterinarian?

Maybe some of you achieved your goals, but if you’re like most mothers, you know that life sometimes has a funny habit of getting in the way.

Now, I want to ask you all a question, and I expect an honest answer: how many of you were truly ready for your first pregnancy?

I don’t mean in terms of financial or even familial support. What I’m asking is something else entirely.

I want to know how many of you actually could have imagined the effort it takes to be a mother?

I’m of the opinion that no one truly knows until they become one themselves. And here’s the deal: no matter your situation, being a mother isn’t easy.

As every young mother knows, you soon find yourself torn between activities that you want to do and activities that you should do. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to feel as if there’s nothing in between.

The key to being a successful mother while also being a successful woman is finding the middle ground. Where can you draw the line between what you need and what you want to do? How can you make sure that you don’t lose your identity while also being the best mother you can possibly be?

These are questions that don’t have easy answers—and you’ll never hear me pretend that I do. What I hope to offer through my blog stems from my own understanding and experiences of balancing motherhood with my own personal life. I hope that others who resonate with my situation are able to use this information for their own good.

The point I want to make is that no matter what your dreams were—or still are—it’s never too late to achieve them. Even though as mothers we tend to put our desires to the side in favor of our children, it’s important that we make time for ourselves.

Because here’s the thing: it’s not just society that tries to pigeon-hole us into one role.

Sometimes we do it to ourselves.

If you’ve been putting your goals and desires to the side because of your roles as a mother, it’s time to stop. Through my woman-empowerment blog, you can find the advice you need to start living your life to the fullest.

The Best Mom Is One …

Who realizes her worth as a woman.

By developing ourselves into competent, powerful women, we’ll be better able to take care of anything that life throws at us—including motherhood.

We’ve all heard the phrase “if Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy,” right? We’ve probably all said it a time or two, as well.

The thing is that this phrase didn’t become popular without a reason. This time-honored wisdom stems from the undeniable truth—everyone is affected when their mother is unhappy.

In order to do this, it’s time that we embrace who we are on all levels—not just on one. Yes, we may be mothers—and I’m sure you’ll all fine ones, at that. It’s also true that we’ll never escape our roles or labels as mothers—not that we would want to, anyway. But don’t ever let just one part of your life determine everything, even if it is the most important part.

Do you have dreams of going back to school? Start checking out colleges to see where you can sign up!

Do you want to get back into painting? Start dusting off those old sketchbooks and go look for that easel!

No matter what your dreams are, make sure that you’re putting forth effort to see them come true. By starting to renew your dreams, you’ll start to live a more fulfilling life.

And as you start to become more well-rounded and confident in who you are as a person, you’ll find that you also become a better mother.

That’s Because …

By becoming better people, we become better mothers. One of the most important ways we can teach our children is to lead by example.

And trust me, I know a thing or two about that.

After succumbing to the pressures of living life as a single mom, I found myself with a growing gambling addiction and in ever-increasing financial debt. Even worse, I started to lose my footing in an already rocky relationship with my son.

In order to repair this relationship with my child, I had to get my life in order. And now that I have, I realize that being a good person is just as important as being a good mother.

Now, I successfully juggle my passions while holding down my job and fulfilling my duties as a mother.

Is it easy?

Not at all.

But it’s worth every moment.

Why Read Mom and Her Goals?

Now we’ve come to the final question: why should you read Mom and Her Goals?

Because it’s got something for moms everywhere.

At Mom and Her Goals, I strive to establish a positive community where we mothers build each other up instead of tearing each other down. I look to celebrate our accomplishments as mothers—and as women with very different, yet equally-important, lives.

By embracing the diversity of womanhood, the Mom and Her Goals community looks to empower the woman—and the mother—in us all.

This means that, yes, you will see posts about motherhood from time to time. These posts fall under the “Mom” part of “Mom and Her Goals.”

It also means that you’ll see posts that relate to my goals and in achieving goals in general. However, here I’ll only focus on goals that have nothing to do with motherhood. That’s right—I’m talking about your personal goals. You know what I mean—your goals to go back to school, or lose fifty pounds, or even become the world’s next great novelist. Whatever it is that speaks to who you are as a person.

And finally, you’ll get a mix of the two. Because it’s not easy to juggle motherhood and achieving your personal goals, I’ll give you tips and tricks—and the occasional personal story—on how you can balance these two important ideals.

I’m excited to be able to share my stories and my passions with you. It’s my sincerest wish that all mothers reading this find empowerment to realize their full potential while reading this blog.

Join me on my path to self-discovery and self-realization. Though our paths ahead may not be easy, I’m thrilled to have you all join me for the ride