Friends are like flowers, so it is said. We choose them, pick them, and care for them with their life brightening ours.
Women, and all people need friends. In some stages of life it can be harder to get out and cultivate friendships. They take time-effort-and energy. In our modern world it seems to be one of our struggles to create or find lasting friendships. As a young mama I found this to be true and that’s when I discovered mama vloggers.
I discovered a new world of people who wanted to share their lives on camera and actually respond to my comments and give opinions-yes! They shared tips and needed adult wisdom to me, sitting under a sleeping baby on the couch.
Here I am today with blossoming friendships, with people “off-camera”, and I’m thankful for both types of friends I have-virtual and tangible. 🙂
As an English as a Second Language teacher, I encounter a lot of “forgotten” or “out of style” words.
Sometimes students teach me new ones. Today, just in case you didn’t know what a vlog was already, let me teach you: It’s a personal website or social media account* where a person regularly posts videos.
At another time I will write more on my media habits but today-let’s focus on vloggers and vlogging.
Like it’s ancestor before her, the blog, the vlog show cases the important life moments but this time it’s caught on camera. There are mama routine videos, sit and chat laundry folding videos, emotional pregnancy announcement videos, and everything else in-between. Vloggers are also avid Instagramers, Facebookers, etc. They have to keep up the interactive community to fuel their channel. This isn’t a bad thing at all, some beautiful photos happen and we double tap happily.
Here is an old picture of my daughter. My phone did a thing while I was searching for images to use here and I found this treasured moment. Virtual photo-albums are great because you do not have to keep up with a physical copy-and even though I cherish my physical photographs-the virtual storage allows for a vast collection of images and videos. When I became a mama all my photos became super important. I wanted to lock them in a safe and never let them be stolen or deleted. The vlogger reality champions this idea of creating and saving moments in time you will be looking back on until the end. Your children will look at these moments, even hopefully tiny videos, and thank you for them.
I know I’m very thankful for my small collection of family videos that are on VHS. My childhood memory is lacking and when I look at these videos it helps connect me to the reality of my past. Even moments parents forget are on tape aka file for us to look back on for a long time to come.
Back to the present era, where the digital social media empires try to lord over my days and nights-stealing me away from creating memories with my family. There’s a balance, to using this technology for good, and not as an escape from our lives. I’m honestly working on that balance.
I love the content creators who put up real-life material and encourage me as a stay-at-home-mom who works part time. I try to do my best and enjoy this precious gift of being a mother. They inspire me to be creative on Instagram, which I find fun to do.
Just like the friends you choose-vloggers tend to vary with your personality and interests.
I try not to watch or even subscribe to too many vloggers on YouTube, so here’s my top three mama vloggers. The competition is kinda fierce out there for vloggers-let me tell you!
- @ellelindquist https://ellelindquist.com
- @loeppkyslife https://campsite.bio/delilahloeppky
- @sarahtheresev https://www.youtube.com/user/SarahHeartsSparkle
1. Elle helped me pack my hospital bag with my first born when I was having a mental block. She has shared her powerful life story and given me so many laughs.
2. Delilah and her little family are a favourite of my daughter, who enjoys watching her “day in the life” vlogs with me. She encourages me to spend time reading the Bible and love on my family more.
3. Sarah is the most recent vlog-mommy I’ve subscribed to. She challenges me to be more intentional with me time, purchases, and words.
All 3 mamas are Canadian, all three are Christians, and all three strive to live minimally in their own way.
Maybe because my grandfather was Canadian I’ve been drawn to these ladies, not sure, but just like the friends we spend time with in person-the company we keep online impacts who we become.
I choose to support these women with my time in watching their videos when I’m able, and in return they are able to make an income while having their dream job of being mama.
I encourage you to find the vlogger mama friend who you can support and be inspired by. We’re in this futuristic world together so I can give you a virtual hug now and drive to your house later and give you an actual real one. <3
