Segullah

LDS women blogging about the peculiar and the treasured

Wielding Power

That I may live to be one of the best women, who make others glad that they were born.
-George Eliot’s Daniel Deronda
Power conjures up images of the conquering Alexander the Great, Donald Trump’s boardroom, or Bill Gates’ bank account. But that is not my power. While I may lack political power, star power, or excess capital, I still feel pretty [...]

The Stories of Women

Today’s interview is with Neylan McBaine, talking about the newly created Mormon Women Project.
LG: How did get started with The Mormon Women Project? Tell me how your own unique background and personal experience influenced your desire to explore LDS women?
NM: Growing up in New York City as the daughter of a professional opera singer, it never [...]

The Space for Change

Systems are resistant to change.
This is one of the fundamental principles of systems theory (a paradigm for looking at people’s lives). Our lives are intricate webs of relationships and forces – home, church, school, community, family, friends.  A shift in one area, relationship, or routine sends ripples across the whole system.  So in essence the system tries to [...]

Where Credit Is Due

If I won an Oscar (which I won’t I am no actress) I would have to say I got where I did because of the love of a good man. While it sounds so not PC, it’s true.
For me marriage and family life has been liberating, not confining. There is a power in fidelity - in having some [...]

Impending Doom?

Life is good right now, in fact too good.
Everyone in our family is healthy, including my parents. My husband has a very stable job with a great work life balance. Our marriage is solid. We’re comfortable financially. My boys are having a good year in school. I am in a good creative groove. Really does it get [...]

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

At five something tomorrow morning I will hear classical musical eminating from the Wave Radio, gradually growing louder until I realize it’s not part of my dream and fumble for the alarm remote on the top of my headboard. Exhaustedly, I will roll out of bed and trip into the bathroom, shivering and banging into the dresser along the way. With [...]

When I grow up I want to be a…

doctor, lawyer, fireman, teacher?
When you ask kids what they want to be when they grow up you get one of those 4 answers.
When I ask the missionaries that revolve in and out of my house for dinner, at least 50% give me the “I have no idea” line. Occasionally, I am impressed at some of the answers, like [...]

The Spirit of 6 Year Old Giving

I was six. My mother wrote on the  fold-over envelope all the names of the members our family, tucked the $5 bill inside the envelope, and closed the pouch. I hurriedly zipped it into my purple backpack alongside my pink My Little Pony lunch box. My blond pig tails bounced as I skipped out for the bus. This was to be my first [...]

Transformation Narratives: Your Life As Story

One there was a…
And one day …
And because of this…
And she realized…
And she decided…
And ever since then…
 A few months ago at a professional conference (for Child Llife Specialists) one session was about therapeutic uses of transformation narratives. Pairing “journey” stories with children to help mirror the life-changing events related to medical conditions, hospitalization, and loss.
While the [...]

To thine own self be true (but you might be less happy)

I recently read the following article. It said that American women are becoming less happy, while American men are becoming happier. They suggested it was due to women taking on more roles outside of the home. Stating that women are increasingly disconnected and distracted, and as they get busier they have less time for the various parts of [...]

Beauty In The Age Of Plastics

I didn’t have many Barbies growing up. The ones I did have were gifts from friends at birthday parties because my mother was never especially keen on Barbie’s exaggerated, oversexed proportions (part of my parents larger plan to do their darndest to teach me to fill my head more than my closet).   As a mother of all boys, [...]

Call For Blog Submissions: Up Close September & October

What makes Blog Segullah unique?  The rich perspectives and experiences of many different voices. We need your stories. We are currently looking for submissions for:
 September: Death and Dying: Loss of Loved Ones (spouse, child, parent, friend)
We live in a death avoidant age. It is something most of us don’t encounter very often and are quite uncomfortable with. Those going [...]

My Cake Doctrine

It seemed crazy, riding a camel up a moutain at midnight. Helpless, six feet in the air, I tried to tell myself that the camel didn’t want to die any more than I did. I listened to the sound of the pebbles as they spilled down the drop-off cliffs, and echoed as they bounced down the rocks [...]

Crushes: Unappreciated Delicacy of Youth

“Oh new love!” my friend Kelli pined, “It’s so exciting. I miss it! I have to enjoy it vicariously through you. Really, I love being married, but I miss the ‘falling in love’ part, it’s so fun.”
She begged for more details, downright giddy, as I recounted some episode from my “crush-of-the-month” on our way to work. Kelli [...]

A Life Like Mine: World Living 101

My captive children munched on popcorn, and sloppily slurped juice from their thermoses in the backseat of the minivan as we made our way across the George Washington Bridge on our trek south to Virginia. My four-year-old glanced up briefly to cheer the Manhattan skyline (a landmark in the journey) as Bhangra music chimed through [...]

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