Community and sex.
Those 2 really don’t sound like they go together. They don’t. Not really. But I’m talking about them on May 19th at MommyCon Austin anyway, just not at the same time.
Well, I’m not planning to talk about them at the same time. We’ll see what happens. You never really know. Because when you’re talking about finding your parenting community talking about what made you a parent in the first place may just come up.
I had a great time at MommyCon Las Vegas even though I got asked to cover at the lunch by someone unaffiliated with MommyCon in a kind of bizarre turn of events. That incident aside, the whole experience was a lot of fun. Getting to meet the companies sponsoring, connecting with the moms and other presenters, making new friends, and talking about parenting… and sex. In that space of 24 hours, I saw moms (and dads) connect, broadening and deepening their community while educating themselves and finding encouragement along the parenting journey.
Personally, I’ve never really been a fan of “mom” events. They tend to scare me. Like an extension of high school I always seem to be wearing the wrong brands, sporting the wrong hair style, and blundering into the wrong topics in conversation. Between laughing at the wrong things at times and not getting why everyone else was laughing at other times, I have typically felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb at mom events. Instead of leaving encouraged and with friends, I tended to leave feeling more alone than when I came.
So it was with some trepidation that I agreed to speak at MommyCon. Like being the awkward kid stuck standing up naked in front of everyone in a crazy nightmare, I figured speaking at a mom centered event could only be worse than attending one. Even better, I was talking about being an imperfect parent and sex, because what could be more awkward than that? But if The Leaky Boob has taught me anything, it’s that we all need community and having someone be openly honest about the struggles they’re having can be all it takes to unleash a torrent of support from those that have been in that same place. Every time I see a Leaky open up and share vulnerably I am amazed at how powerful it is not only for them but for those that were quietly struggling and feeling alone. So I went, opened up, and found my own connections with others, some that have had similar journeys and some that have had wildly different ones.
And it wasn’t nearly as scary as I expected. In fact, I’ve signed up to go again this time sponsored by Kanga Care and talking about finding our parenting community and why we need it.
But this time I get to go with my family and The Piano Man is joining me from our joint blog Beyond Moi, to have the sex talk. I’m really looking forward to our session sharing in a relaxed setting what 16 years of marriage, several years as marriage mentors, and books and counselors have taught us when it comes to sex. Honest and forthcoming, we’re not ones to sugar coat or pretend nor pander to stereotypes. We will, however, be sharing some Milk Maker Cookies at our session on sex. And going beyond the grown up sex talk for couples, we’ll share how we approach the topic with our own children and encourage dialogue about how our own attitudes, experiences, and perspectives of sex as parents can influence our children. We can move beyond ourselves and our fear of having “the talk” with our children and into developing a healthy perspective on sex for ourselves and our children.
Community and sex. There’s no avoiding these issues in real life and as moms and dads, recognizing the value of both and coming to terms with their place in our lives helps us guide our children. We need each other and we need to be bold enough to talk about these realities.
If you’re going to be at MommyCon Austin, Jeremy and I will be around and we’ll have some goodies with us to share thanks to the great companies we felt comfortable partnering with to sponsor our sessions at MommyCon Austin. Find me (Jessica) and let me know just how RUMPTASTIC MommyCon is and the first 20 I talk to that say so will receive a free Rumparooz cloth diaper from Kanga Care and a fun something for anyone after that. Talk to Jeremy and tell him how much you enjoy cookies and milk because he’s giving out Milk Makers Cookies and not just to breastfeeding moms.
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Joining us at MommyCon in Austin on the 19th? We’d love to meet you. There’s a code just for TLB readers to get $10 off their registration, just use Leakyboob when you buy your tickets. Need a better deal than that? Enter to win a pair of tickets as a couple! Along with a pair of tickets to MommyCon Austin, this prize bundle includes a Beco Soleil with drool pads in the winner’s choice of Micah or Stella, a Kanga Care Rumparooz in the new print Dexter and one in crimson, and a $50 gift certificate to Milk Makers Cookies! Use the widget below to be entered.