How It Got Started
Hi, my name is Shanika Green, and I created this space and the Ministry of Mom membership community for working moms just like you. Because I know what it’s like to try to balance it all on your own, and there’s nothing like a community of other moms who truly get you to help make the experiences feel more normal.
I’ll never forget when my son was in kindergarten and I ran into some health complications. I was a single mom, stressed enough as it was, and then had to have open heart surgery to save my life. I was only 25 years old. No one tells you how tough motherhood can be, and they certainly don’t warn you at the hospital before sending you home that taking care of a five year old while recovering from open heart surgery isn’t going to be a breeze.
When I went to my support system, I heard the same sentiment again and again. They said I should be grateful to be alive. While their sentiments were well intentioned, the guilt poured in.
It’s not that I wasn’t grateful, I was! But couldn’t I also be physically and mentally exhausted? Couldn’t I be physically present but mentally somewhere else and need a little help navigating that situation without feeling like I was being selfish or ungrateful?
I founded the Ministry of Mom because it’s everything I needed from the time my son was born to the time I was recovering from surgery, and even now as I’m raising a teen. It’s a space to share without feeling shamed. A space to not only not feel judged, but also to have other moms say, “You’re not alone, I feel that, too.”
What started as a Facebook group where we shared recipes, stories, and parenting tips, has evolved into a real community of support and togetherness. We are young and new moms, we are not so young and experienced moms, and we even have some grandmothers among us. Because the need for support from other moms never goes away. Especially when you’re balancing your career and motherhood simultaneously -- we need all the help we can get. And let me say it loud and clear… it’s okay to ask for help, and you deserve to feel heard and to have help building the tools to navigate this life.
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