As Mother's Day and the excitement of the upcoming Listen To Your Mother event approaches, a gamut of emotion and thought consume me as I pause with reflection on all the moments of happiness, excitement, pride, love, and the occasional sleep deprived, embarrassing moment that has filled my years of being a proud mother of 3. I, too, think of how fortunate I am to have the incredible blessing of my own mother, who at 87 years young, still never ceases to amaze me!
Order your tickets for May 8th's incredible Listen to Your Mother Show today!
When I first became a mother, fortunately and very quickly, I realized three important things:
- I was filled with an eternal and unconditional love that I had never know before.
- I shared a common thread with many other women to whom I would seek advice. And last, but most certainly not least,
- This new, precious bundle of joy did NOT come complete with an owner's manual.
Do any of these sound familiar? We are not in this boat alone! I know this because in 2010, after a very successful inaugural show in Madison, WI, and an outpouring of interest and support from bloggers with hopes of hosting shows in their own hometown, Ann Imig, Listen To Your Mother's founder, set her sights on something bigger.
And bigger it has become! The show, featuring live readings by local writers on the beautiful, the not so beautiful, and the sleep deprived state of motherhood, in celebration of Mother's Day. The show has grown to encompass cities throughout the U.S., and thanks to Lovelyn Palm, we have the pleasure of witnessing a show here in Valparaiso, IN.
"I was part of the first NWI Listen To Your Mother cast in 2011 when I read my piece entitled 'The Motherless.' When our then director (Stephanie Precourt, now the national online content director) moved to Oregon, I took on the role at director/producer. This is my 3rd year directing." says Palm. "My goal is to take the audience on a well-crafted journey that celebrates and validates mothering by giving it a microphone. I, like all 39 cities that produce a LTYM show, strive to bring together voices from our region to celebrate motherhood's complexity, diversity and humor in the form of original readings that are performed live on-stage by their authors."
As a proud third year Megaphone sponsor of the show, Ideas In Motion Media welcomes Lovelyn, and her all star cast of Northwest Indiana ladies, to the stage of Memorial Opera House at 7 p.m., May 8th, to share their journey through motherhood with stories that will have you laughing, crying, and cringing! The stories are of a wide variety and everyone can find something to relate to, and learn from.
When asked what sparked his initial interest in the show, Ideas In Motion Media CEO, Chris Mahlmann replied, "I knew in an instant that our Life networks wanted to be a part of this show as my late mother taught me the lesson that is the premise of our entire good news business "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all". She had the defining traits that so many of us look to from our moms of relentless dedication to her kids, a tireless pursuit of teaching and guiding us no matter how old we are, and the love that is unconditional that only a mother can give. This show gives so many a chance to share their own personal stories that we can relate to which celebrate how much we listen to our mothers far beyond when they are speaking to us."
If you are a mom, are going to become one, or just love the one you have, this great show is not to be missed!! Bring your mom, grandmother, sister, friends, and yes, your husband can come too, and join me on this beautiful night as we hear speakers, spanning many generations, share their hard, yet beautiful, journey on this path called motherhood.
"Each of the 39 cities chooses a local non-profit in which to donate 10% of the proceeds. Food Bank of Northwest Indiana is our local non-profit, and in addition to the donation, we will be collecting non-perishables the night of the show. We also teamed up with them last year and through that one night of Listen To Your Mother, raised enough through food and monetary donations for 1,350 meals to help fight hunger and feed hope in our region!" Palm shared.
"We are thrilled to be the beneficiary for the 2nd straight year. We appreciate it so much!" said Arleen Peterson, Executive Director, Food Bank of Northwest Indiana. "For every dollar donated, we are able to provide 3 meals."
To purchase tickets for the show, visit http://listentoyourmothernwi.bpt.me.