(Over)Thinking Mom: A Podcast and Blog

Although celebrities would have us believe otherwise, having a baby can wreak havoc on your body. Personally, I gained over 40 pounds, and even after losing all the weight I felt (okay, feel) unsatisfied with my saggy post-baby body. I had an almost ten pound baby and my body will never be the same, but after coming to terms with my new shape, I hired a personal trainer to help teach me safe ways to gain muscle and energy.

My workout enthusiasm is hit or miss, so I’m not one to give advice, but my trainer was great. I talk with her, Connie Marshall of Life Fitness 4 Me, about working out during and after pregnancy. What are the biggest mistakes pregnant women and new moms make? Are personal trainers only for the rich and famous? Are all trainers the same? Connie answers these questions and more.

You may have heard of Sarah Josepha Hale, the Mother of Thanksgiving. If you haven’t, she was a widowed mother of five, editor of the magazine Godey’s Lady’s Book, and the reason we have a national day of Thanksgiving. In 1863, President Lincoln issued the national proclamation giving us our American feast. A children’s book even has the title Thank you, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving.

But who was Sarah Hale? For one, she was a complicated figure, a woman who opposed giving women the right to vote, but who lobbied for Thanksgiving as a particularly American and feminine holiday. I look at Hale’s life, as well as an article by the historian Anne Wills, to discuss the 19th century foundations of this holiday. It turns out, Pilgrims had less to do with Thanksgiving than did 19th century magazines. Perhaps elementary school students should be dressing up as periodicals rather than as Pilgrims.