Road Trip! Two Mamas Walk Into A Bar …

Last weekend Ellen and I high-tailed it to Vermont for our first ever MamasOnCall retreat.  This may surprise you, ’cause it sure surprises me, but we haven’t had actual face time since we launched this baby five months ago.  In fact, we haven’t been in the same place at the same time in over 3 years! Yup, all this has been the result  of telephonic and internet technology. Amazing, no?

So imagine the shrieks and hugs when I got off the train in Westchester County and we set off on our road trip to New England in autumn. Picture Thelma and Louise … without the guns. Or the men. Just two happy mamas ready to whoop it up and do some serious talking about how far we’ve come, where we’re going, and how we can give you, our adored and appreciated readers, more of the mamas stuff you like best.

We started in immediately as though we’d just been interrupted in mid-conversation a few minutes ago (that’s what happens when you’ve been friends for 30 years). And as we drove through picture postcard landscape, catching up quickly with each others kids, husbands, friends, struggles with hot flashes and weight gain and all the richness of day to day life, new ideas began to percolate. We couldn’t talk fast enough or finish each others sentences completely enough. Two great friends in sync together — there’s nothing like it.

And I won’t dwell on the moment when Ellen passed a slow-moving car ahead of us and came within inches of the on-coming truck. I could just see the headline — ‘MamasOnCall Founders Die in Fiery Crash’.

But the BIG question for us at this point is what do our readers want? More of what? Less of which? How can we be there for YOU and what you need? Not what we think you need, but what you really need.

In our very first Mama to Mama blog, back in May, we wrote …

” … we’ve traveled the road you’re on now and know where most of the potholes are. We remember where the road gets narrow and scary and have collected enough tools to fill a large chest to draw from. We also know how fun and exhilarating parenting can be, and want you to be able to relax enough to enjoy it!”

Well that’s still what we’re here for, and if you check in with us often you have probably decided which parts of the website are most useful for you, which give you a quick laugh in the midst of your crazy kid-filled day, and which, quite honestly, you tend to skip over.

During those next couple of days in Vermont we brainstormed like maniacs and came up with loads of ideas we hope will serve you even better.

Over unbelievable lobster macaroni and cheese (quite possibly the best comfort food I’ve ever eaten) and several glasses of a nice sauvignon blanc we talked about creating podcasts so you can hear our conversations on specific topics – like weaning your baby, or how to react to the imaginary friend who just showed up.

A relaxed afternoon spent browsing in the perfect New England bookstore provoked topics for more ‘top 10′ lists and quick ‘how to’ posts.

One long hike through magnificent foliage got us raging about how to address the media’s focus on sexualizing our daughters at the earliest ages, and how that impacts their teen years and beyond.

But at the end of the day it’s really about you — the young moms out there — and what YOU want to read and learn. So drop us a line, send a comment, ask a question … or even better, do all three. Let us know how you feel and what you’re thinking.

We loved our road trip.  Oh … the bar?  Which bar?

Xo, Rachel (and Ellen)