I can't think of anything more fun than surprising people with the unexpected. I love birthdays and send many of my friends and family a card or a gift on their special days. I LOVE Christmas. My wife and I love giving. It's something I've always had fun doing.
And I can't think of any role more important to the health of any society or culture than the mom. There are obviously exceptions to this but for the most part "mom" is holding this all together no matter where you are.
The impetus for World's Okayest Mom (WOM) for me is the combination of these two facts. I want to bring joy to the women who have the responsibility of holding the most important job in the world -- moms.
Let's think about what moms do for us...
During pregnancy they become super gassy and super emotional. Their joints get loose and they start burping up liquid fire. They gain weight and their feet grow. They puke and have to pee more and crave weird foods and their hair falls out. What the heck?
After pregnancy they get zero sleep. Most moms who have husbands don't kill their husbands who wake up refreshed and well-rested every morning (emphasis on the word "most" haha). They have these little weird parasite things latching onto their boobs all hours of the day and night. They're at risk for post-partum depression, which is no joke. Their bodies never look the same.
Working moms have to go back to work eventually which is unbelievably hard at first (and usually never gets any easier). Moms have to deal with the 'breast-feeding in public' issue. Stay-at-home moms are the hardest workers on planet Earth, and I will punch anyone in the face who says otherwise (and my wife isn't even a stay-at-home mom).
They always have stains and food on their clothes. They can never spend as much time as they want to on their hair or makeup. If they get some extra money for their birthday or Christmas, they'll more than likely spend it on their kids (very unlike the dad in this house...[sheepish grin]).
They change diapers and pick up toys and plan meals and worry. They cuddle and rock and shush and pat. They teach and sing and clap and play. They are the ones sought after following a fall or a boo-boo. They are the ones who make it all better. They are the ones who are always there...at 2 AM cleaning up vomit, wiping bottoms, drying tears after bad dreams.
They sit through dance recitals and braid miles of hair. They scream at soccer games and apply Band-aids (most of the time when there is ABSOLUTELY NO BLOOD ANYWHERE). They get talked back to and put up with frequent eye-rolls.
They are super-humanly flexible and can seemingly dislocate their shoulders to hand kids food or whoopins in the backseat. I don't think I have ever seen a mom sitting down outside of a car.
Moms' dinner is always luke warm. They're chefs and chauffeurs and nurses and teachers and mentors.
When everyone else is on vacation, moms' work INCREASES. They never have a day off and work 135 hours a week.
Moms get paid $0.00 to be a mom.
Moms are the GREATEST, and with your help, we want to do something for them when the storms of life hit.
We want to find moms who have an enormous hospital bill due to a lengthy bed-rest or extended stay in the NICU -- and zero those balances out.
We want to find moms struggling to make ends meet at Christmas time and give them money for gifts and meals and travel.
We want to find moms who've lost a child and pay for the funeral.
We want to find moms who've been diagnosed with a debilitating disease and take away all financial stresses from the equation.
We want to buy wigs for moms who've lost their hair because of cancer.
We want to help moms pay for child care.
We want to send gift packages to moms on bed-rest.
We want to buy diapers for moms who need diapers for their babies.
We want to help keep roofs over their heads.
We want to help keep food on the table.
We want to help them get away from abusive situations.
We want to help moms with the finances surrounding adoption.
We want to assist women who care for foster children and/or orphans.
We want to help moms in ways we don't even know about yet.
And to do all this....my wife (the greatest Mom on earth besides my own of course) and I need your help.
We want to raise a TON OF MONEY.
And we want to give away A TON OF MONEY. We want to find opportunities to change lives. That's the deal. Plain and simple. Money can't buy happiness, but it sure as heck can help relieve some pressure and let some joy shine through the clouds.
I can't think of a better way to spend my time than finding lives to change and ways to bring joy to moms' lives in astounding and unimaginable ways.
Gratefully,
Mark Rogers, VP -- World's Okayest Mom, Inc.
The thought of taking despair and hopelessness away from a mom and replacing it with joy and hope is an incredibly exciting prospect for Jenn and me.
Because of the amazing Facebook group Jenn started in May of 2015, we have galvanized WOMs all over the country and received our tax exempt status from the IRS in July of 2016!
Help us help moms by considering becoming a WonderWOM and setting up a $20 monthly donation on our GiveNow Page. WonderWOMs will also get a cool "WonderWOM sticker" designed by my famous and super-awesome brother, Jeff. With the support of thousands of moms, just $240 annually will allow us to bring joy to hundreds of moms around the country and even the world.