ARKANSAS, USA: Love Comes in Every Color

ARKANSAS, USA: Love Comes in Every Color

The month of April marks 45 years since The United States Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Loving v. Virginia. This isn’t a landmark case that we are all familiar with, such as Roe v. Wade or Brown v. Board of Education. However, for me, the Loving case is partially responsible for the birth of my children and my upcoming marriage. Their decision, which ruled in favor of the Lovings’ (an interracial couple) and declared the state of Virginia’s anti-miscegenation law to be unconstitutional, opened the doors for people of different races to legally date, cohabitate and wed in the United States. (more…)

Margie Webb (USA)

Margie Webb is a forty-something, divorced mom of three biracial sons: Isaiah (25), Caleb (20), and Elijah (6/8/1997 - 7/2/1997) and two bonus sons: Malcolm (5/10/1992 - 10/9/2015) and Marcus (25). She lives in Lafayette, Louisiana by way of Little Rock, Arkansas, and enjoys traveling, attending the theater, cooking calling the Hogs during Arkansas Razorback football season, spending time with family and friends, and is a crazy cat lady. In addition to obtaining her Bachelors and Masters degree, she also has a Graduate Certificate in Online Writing Instruction and a National HR Certification through SHRM. She excels in her career as a Human Resources Management professional. Additionally, she has represented World Moms Network as a Digital Reporter at various conferences, including the United Nations Social Good Summit. Her life has been one big adventure in twists, turns ,extreme lows, and highs. After recently embracing her new lease on life and her identity in the LGBTQ community, she is excited about what is yet to come. She can be found on Twitter@TheHunnyB

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HUMAN RIGHTS: Non-Legally Married With Children

HUMAN RIGHTS: Non-Legally Married With Children

Twelve and a half years ago, the love of my life and I promised to love and care for each other “until death do us part”.  We had a lovely backyard ceremony with flowers and music.  Our family and friends dressed up, brought gifts, and ate the delicious banquet of food and drinks we provided for them.  It was fabulous!  Sounds like a marriage ceremony, but here’s the catch…we were never legally married.

Why?  We weren’t allowed to get married.  It was and still is against the law where we live.  You see, we are both women – female – xx chromosomes.  That’s it.  That’s the only reason we were denied this basic legal right.

In the United States of America, a legal marriage grants over 1,100 federal benefits and around 300 state benefits.  So how has this made our lives different?  What do we miss out on? What have we had to sacrifice?

In the beginning, we had to pay $300 to legally change our names.  We then had to hire an attorney to create legal documents such as power of attorney and living wills in order to be able to make decisions for each other as much as legally possible.

Then we had children: boy/girl twins and then another boy.  That was and still is the area that most concerns us about not having a legally recognized marriage.  Our children are not legally both of ours!  In the state we live in, we have no ability to grant each other legal custody of our biological children.  (more…)

World Moms Blog

World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children. World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.

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PENNSYLVANIA, USA: Learning to Live in The Now

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”  – Dr. Seuss

I have often heard people say  “God doesn’t give you anything you can’t handle” or “things happen for a reason” and even “you may not understand it now, but God has a plan.” Religious or not, I am sure these quotes are somewhat familiar to you. How you chose to incorporate them into your life can differ drastically from one person to another.

For me, when put in a situation that I felt was almost impossible to get though, it was hard to remember these words of encouragement.  Some would argue that because I hadn’t built my life on a strong spiritual foundation, I then had trouble finding comfort in these words when I needed it most. Others might say that my ability to “get through” a tough situation would rely mostly on the strength and determination I had developed within myself and that would then give me the courage to handle almost anything.

I find myself in awe of those people I meet or hear of that have been through situations that I don’t think I’d be able to come back from.  In the scheme of things, I do believe I have been blessed.  Regardless of the troubles I have had, I do believe that I can learn from those around me who have endured the unimaginable.  When we open ourselves up to truly listening to those we meet, it is then that we can really learn something about life. (more…)

Twinmom112 (USA)

Born on the West Coast, my parents quickly came back to their roots on the East Coast, and so the “Jersey Girl” stigma was put upon me. I spent the first part of my childhood in Northern New Jersey – but eventually settled in Central Jersey, where I will live for the next 25 years! Even branching out to attend college at West Virginia University – I still found myself surrounded by “Jersey” – some things you just can’t get away from!

I was married at 27, and my husband and I transitioned from New Jersey to Pennsylvania. After building our house and getting acclimated to our “new home,” starting a family was definitely our next step. Unfortunately, we never anticipated the journey we would embark on. For the next 3 years, our introduction to the world of infertility was something that we never expected! Growing-up, I just assumed that when I was “ready” to be a mother … I would. Something greater than me had other plans!

After an intense time of highs and lows – we got the greatest news ever! On May 24th, 2005 it was confirmed – parenting twins would be the next stage of our lives. And so it began…I never imaged, for one second, I would be the mother to twin daughters! Today, like most parents, “juggling” is a word I use often! I attempt to “juggle” my full-time job as the Sales and Marketing Director for a catering venue with my job as a mother.

Together with my husband and our families – we make it work! I am so proud to be a part of World Moms Blog. I believe that the lessons I can learn from other mothers are invaluable. I couldn’t be happier to be a part of such a wonderful community of mothers!

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Travel Itinerary for the Week of April 16th!

On Monday we will be in Pennsylvania, where Twinmom112 talks about the struggles she and her husband endured in order to finally be blessed with their twins. She ponders whether it would be worthwhile to go through it all again, and how to make peace with the decision to not have any more children.

We have a great guest post from Michigan on Tuesday! Beverly Prince-Sayward is a wife and mother, but she has challenges that go far beyond those that are part and parcel of “normal” parenting. Come and read this thought-provoking post about partnership and parenting laws that discriminate against same-sex couples.

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World Moms Blog

World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children. World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.

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Saturday Sidebar: One child….or more?

This week World Moms Blog writer Ms. V. asks,

“Monetary costs aside, what do you perceive as the pros and cons of raising an only child?”

Check out what some of our World Moms had to say…

Mamma Simona of South Africa writes:
“I’ve found that only children are usually very gifted academically but not as good on the social front. We chose to have 2 children relatively close together (3 yrs) because my hubby’s experience of being 8 yrs younger than his sister had the negatives of being an only child (e.g. EXTREMELY overprotective mother and nobody to play with) without the positive of being better off financially! Please don’t everybody jump down my throat now – this is just MY experience and I’m quite sure that not everyone is the same!” (more…)

World Moms Blog

World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children. World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.

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