Hello mamas! I’m Amanda Holliday-Bembridge; I like Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain… no wait, wrong intro (and secretly, I hate Pina Coladas!). As one of the original contributors to DC Area Moms (formerly DC Moms Blog), I feel lucky to still have this opportunity to share more about what I love with all of you. For the past two years, I have also been the Social Resources Coordinator, which is a fancy title to mean I schedule all of the memes that make you laugh on Facebook! I LOVE this position because I love thinking about social media’s power in our lives as mothers. My goal is to make mamas feel seen and empowered while smiling a little bit more during some me-time scrolling.
Here is our Q&A with Amanda:
Being a Founding & Senior Contributor for years, how do you know what to write?
Back when I started writing in the Spring of 2018, I tried to think about what would be most helpful for moms long-term, more of those evergreen types of content. I wrote about helping others with infertility, choosing a childcare placement, ways to schedule and organize some sanity, potty training resources, easy last-minute meal ideas, and lots of our guides!
Occasionally, I found something that was normal to me really resonated with other moms since it offered a new perspective to them. Some of my favorites are my funnier post about being vegetarian, learning about geocaching, amazing local pinball places, tips for a new road biker, surviving a loss of income (again), and choosing to see color while raising a Black son.
What do you like to write about aside from DCAM articles?
When I’m not writing fun stuff for DCAM, I’m writing my dissertation. Yep, because working full-time with my kid home full-time during a pandemic wasn’t enough of a challenge. Sigh, never again (for the pandemic, might just be crazy enough to do another Ph.D.!)
The main motivation that has gotten me through this craziness has been how much I LOVE what I’m studying. Infant Mental Health is a field that goes beyond looking just at tiny people through the lens of child development (aka whether kids are checking milestones and how to support them as needed); it takes a deep approach to look at the most critical relationships in a young child’s life that will lead to their ultimate development. And surprise surprise, to summarize a ridiculous amount of research, the most important relationships are with the caregivers’ children are closest to, primarily their mamas.
It may seem too simple to summarize here that we need to take care of mamas in order to take care of kids, but that is the elevator pitch. We have thousands of micro-interactions with our kids each day that connect with them down to a cellular level in ways that are challenging to understand without slow-motion replays. To me, it’s fascinating!
Why do you do what you do?
I’m lucky enough to bring my other passion into my dissertation research- music! After teaching music, dance, and fitness classes for years, I knew there was something there I was just starting to scratch the surface of understanding. Something about how music can bring mamas and babies together, not just for the child’s benefit but also for the mothers.
And now, I am swimming in words in the middle of the night, trying to get everything published. Not just to check a box saying I’m done or for the new title (that’s Doc Holliday to you, buddy), but because I want to take what I’ve learned and share it with more and more mamas!
“Why do you write like you’re running out of time?” Totally get that line now… I write because I see how valuable our time is, from both a daily perspective to an old lady’s “life is short” perspective. I write because I want to document and share with others on a bigger scale than just those I interact with.
And I write like I’m running out of time because I want to spend more of my time with the people I love, doing things that make us happy. From backyard hangouts around a fire pit to laughing until you pee yourself game nights, that is where I want to be with the ones I love the most.
Any questions for Amanda? Ask them below!
