Inspiring Mama: Peggy O'Mara of Mothering Magazine

I received my first copy of Mothering Magazine when my first daughter was 4 months old. A friend told me she was done with it and wanted to pass it along to me. I took the magazine, not having a clue what was inside and that what I was holding was going to change my entire way of parenting. During my first 4 months of motherhood I had instinctively leaned towards natural parenting, but I didn't really even know "natural parenting" existed. When I got my hands on Mothering it was like my whole world seemed to come into focus....it was truly a blessing that this magazine was passed on to me and that it is available to all parents!

Peggy O'Mara is the editor, publisher, and owner of Mothering Magazine, author, Mama of 4 children, dynamic speaker and and incredibly Inspiring Mama!! Please sit back and enjoy the words and wisdom of Peggy O'Mara.

Suzy: Thank you so much, Peggy, for sharing with us today! Can you tell us a bit about what the inspiration was for starting Mothering Magazine and how you got involved?

Peggy: Mothering was started by Adeline Eavenson (now Cranson) in Ridgeway, Colorado in 1976. I sent her an article, "In Defense of Motherhood," and a poem, "There Will be Time", both of which she published in 1977 and 1978. My family and I moved to Albuquerque, where Addie had moved from Colorado, in 1978 and I began working with the magazine as an editor. However, I had three children under five and it was really impossible to do anything else so I quit knowing that I was satisfied being "just a mom." In 1979, Addie told me that she wanted to sell the magazine and I said I wanted to buy it. In fact, she had a dream that she passed me the torch. I didn't have the down payment of $5000 that she wanted and could not borrow it, so once again I let it go. Addie called me late in 1979 to say the deal to sell the magazine to Rolf and Heidi Preistnitz in Canada had fallen through and did I want to buy it? Of course, I did and I got on the phone with her dad to tell him that my husband and I were our own collateral and that we would keep to the contract. And, we did. We never made a down payment and we paid the purchase of the magazine off with monthly payments over several years. I am blessed.

Suzy: What have been the highs and lows of having your own magazine that usually goes against the mainstream way of thinking?

Peggy: I can't even begin to answer that in a few words or even paragraphs. The highs, of course, are helping people, making a difference in people's lives. I always wanted to help women especially to overcome the challenges I faced myself more easily. I was so isolated as a new mom and such a pioneer that I wanted to make it easier for families and the high for me is knowing that I have. The lows have been the incredible financial pressure I have been under during most, if not all, of the time I have owned the magazine. We do not have investors, or a financial safety net so I have ridden out more a lot of fear and terror over money and whether or not we would be able to print the next issue, but just like in the beginning, I keep letting it go and it always rights itself. Mothering has a life of its own.

Suzy: I often find it difficult to explain my natural parenting choices to others who disagree with some of my decisions. This is true for so many other mother's and I wondered if you could give us your opinion on how to handle these tough situations?

Peggy: I think you have to keep it about you. You can talk about things that work for you and how excited you are about certain ideas or skills or even products, but we all recoil from being preached at or told what to do, so we can't make it personal even when we know that someone desperately needs what we know. I like the La Leche League idea of taking a mother where she is. She'll move along just like you have. Take her where she is, give her the information she asks for and trust that, like you, she will get there. Also, I like the three rule. I will mention something to someone three times. And, if they don't pick up on it, I let it go. My, I sound so Buddha-esq. Believe me, I struggle with this all the time. As they say, it's a practice.

Suzy: A lot of my readers are working mothers who find it hard to balance their work and family life. Can you give us a bit of advice on how you have balanced (or attempted to balance) this over the years?

Peggy: I've had the good fortune of being able to work from home and on my own schedule so that's made a huge difference. When my children were small, I had the two hour rule. I would try to break down all of my tasks and task for the magazine into two hours blocks or to do them in two hour blocks. I could usually have about two hours if the children were playing and all was going well. I used to write my editorials with the children underfoot. It taught me how to really concentrate. I make a mental inventory of how things are going. I always start with my children, then the departments of the magazine. When my children were little, I worked around their needs. I think they didn't even know I was working. And, I chose one day a week that I could get help with the children so I could play catch up on my stuff, but truth be told, I never really caught up until they were grown. I had to always be OK with that because I was determined to put the needs of my children first. And, they made me so happy.

Suzy: Thanks again for taking time out of your busy life to visit with us today!

Peggy: Thank you, Suzy. I wish you the best with Hip Mountain Mama.

Inspiring Mama: Peggy O'Mara of Mothering Magazine