How One Woman Became a [Super] Mom (Blogger)
Lisa Engel
Meet Lisa Engel, one of mom blogging’s most inspirational success stories.
Though Lisa’s flagship blog, The Journey of a Superhero Mom, attracts around 100 readers per week and is incredibly well maintained for being on its second year, it isn’t so much popularity that makes this “Superhero Mom” a success.
For Engel, who was told more than ten years ago that she’d never have children, the addendum of “mom” before “blogger” is in itself a bit miraculous. But what makes this super mom a super blogger isn’t just the story she tells; it’s how she tells it.
“My journey to become a mom was an emotional & exhausting one,” she explained. “I was diagnosed with Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome and we were unable to have children. We did 10 years of infertility treatment, lost 14 babies along the way do failed pregnancies, and on my last try with IVF (or In Vitro Fertilization).”
Engel said she wanted her boys to know what a miracle they were and how faith brought her and her husband through such a long and exhausting journey. Engel went on to share that the first two miracles were followed by another one: “Two years, almost to the exact day, my son Shane was born, with no help from fertility drugs!”
“I was an avid ‘journaler’ before beginning to the blog,” Engel said. “Long before I ever started to write, I had opportunities to speak about my ‘testimony’ or my life story; I told my story so that others could be encouraged in their own circumstances and know that no matter what, there is a hope!”
Now that her own hopes of becoming a mom have been fulfilled, Engel continues to write about each challenge she faces as a mother, including the discovery that one of her sons (Kyle, the eldest) suffers from Autism Spectrum Disorder, a learning disability.
“My whole purpose in writing is so that someday, my boys can pick up what I’ve written and be encouraged,” Engel said. “They can see that I wrote about the times when we were struggling financially, or the trials and joys of having a special needs child, or life lessons that we learn from circumstances or people in our lives, and clearly see the common thread of perseverance, faithfulness and unconditional love.”
Though many of her readers see her as an inspiration (and frequently request to copy her posts for other motivational sites) Engel is quick to place the credit for her “Supermom” status with the ones who call her “mom.”
“People sometimes think my blog means that I am some kind of ‘Super’ mom,” Engel said. “NO WAY! I am a Mom of Superheroes—big difference!” (At this point the writer would like to state that some, especially Engel’s own family, might disagree with that opinion.)
“Just like those superheroes who have ‘superpowers,’ my boys have amazing ‘powers’ too,” Engel said. “As I write in my blog, my boys have the power to melt me in a second with just a kiss or a smile; they have the amazing ability to turn my hair a totally different color—specifically, gray from driving me crazy. Our children teach us more and affect us more than anything else in this world I think.”
Judging by the thousands of readers Superhero Mom has amassed; it’s probably safe to say that a lot of people are learning from Engel’s family.
Post by Veronica Anderson
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Veronica Anderson was once Veronica Park, and misses the notorious awesomeness of her former last name. Luckily, that’s the only thing she misses about single life. Her married life is awesome; her husband is awesome, and there is no doubt in her mind that her future children will also be…you guessed it: awesome. When not working on her novel of the week or catching up on ANTM, Vero’s probably avoiding housework by shopping for *necessary* items… like shoes. veronica.anderson@momswhoblog.com |
