Hi. I have been lurking here at MTs for a few weeks with caution much the same as I have been cautious in my decision to become a mother. I have enjoyed the many insights into motherhood offered here on a wide variety of subjects and have been moved to both laughter and sadness by your stories.

I am currently living in a very conservative area where my ideals and values are often frowned upon. My impression is that this site offers an open-minded sounding board for contentious mothers.

My relationship with my mother has been a deterrent in my enthusiasm to become a mother myself. However, I have dramatically altered my opinion of myself in the past 2 years. Much to my surprise (and my husband’s elation); I have become excited and confident that I would love to become a mother and that I will not make the same fundamental mistakes that my mother made (I was a great burden and inconvenience to her, to put it mildly). That said I know I will make plenty of my own mistakes and for that reason I hope that this can be an invaluable resource for me to ask for the wisdom of others who have endured similar challenges. I look forward to learning much more!