{by Katy from Bird on the Street}

“Your child has brain damage” is on the list of things you never want to hear, but in June of 2007 those were the exact words I heard just one day after my son was born. A few minutes later they told me that he would probably not live, but if he did, he would be in a wheelchair and could be mentally handicapped as well.

Long before he was born, I knew that motherhood would change me. After Charlie’s traumatic birth, I was scared to death that it would be his brain damage that would alter who I was. Being the mother of a disabled child did change me, but it turns out it would make me better, would challenge me, and would help me become the person I always wanted to be.

I’ve spent my whole life wanting to do something creative. I thought about interior design; I thought about party planning. I perused web sites, tried to discover my personality type, and stacked career guides up on the bedside table. But there was always the day job, and creative ventures were restricted to painting walls or creating art work when I couldn’t afford the real thing.

Charlie’s birth changed all that. I quit my job to stay home with him– convinced that no one could care for him like I could. Suddenly, there was time in the day. No longer consumed with the test scores and lesson plans of a full-time teacher, I needed some kind of outlet.

There is an art to the juggle. Family, business, and self… all of those dreams and ambitions up in the air. It takes a deft hand, a sharp eye, and a trust in our instincts in order to deliver the goods in life.

During the month of May, Blog Nosh Magazine will be featuring stories inspired by the founder of Pepperidge Farm, Margaret Rudkin, as part of our Celebrate the Heart and Art of Motherhood carnival. Margaret Rudkin was a mother who faced adversity and not only rose to the challenge of the juggle, but revolutionized an industry.

Her story, her work, the way she artfully wove motherhood and business, resonates with the lives of many mothers, parents, and entrepreneurs in our community. With this in mind, we shared Margaret’s story (along with the NoshTube video in our sidebar) with a group of commissioned writers, with the hope that they would feel a bit of it resonate within themselves. People, they delivered.

They delivered because that’s what we do. As writers, as parents, as innovative leaders and entrepreneurs, we look adversity in the eye and we recognize opportunity. Margaret’s story struck a chord in me because what resonated was not the fact that she made her first loaf of bread in order to help her son who was suffering from food allergies, but rather that her stepping up to the plate to solve an immediate problem revealed to her a talent for business that she never realized she had.

In today’s economy, so many of us are solving problems on the go, perfecting the art of the hustle so that our families’ needs are met, and consequently building new lives for ourselves. Through the first posts we share with you in our writing carnival, we delve into stories from designers, authors, artists, teachers, and innovators. Including one from a stay-at-home dad, which we have our current economy to thank for and for which we are thankful.

The economy that we face down each day makes Margaret Rudkin’s story all the more relevant to tell. We invite you to explore the ways that our writers’ stories overlap and build upon each other. Dig deep into your own story and ask yourself, possibly for the first time, how you have reached the point at which you are today. Is this what you had planned? For better or worse, reframe your own story with deliberation.

And we’d love for you to share it with us. We’ll be selecting 5 posts from the general carnival to feature on our front page during the month of May, with your permission. Share your post with your audience, then add it to our linky so we can find you.

Finally, we are immensely proud to share with you that Pepperidge Farm found such inspiration in your storytelling that they are donating $10,000 to Feeding America, in addition to the 9.2 million pounds of food Pepperidge Farm has donated since July 2005, 1.9 million pounds this year alone. The story of need and innovation is as relevant today as it was when Margaret founded Pepperidge Farm in the 1930’s. Blog Nosh Magazine is honored to be part of the inspiration for this donation, along with you and your own storytelling. hint, hint… Share your story! You inspire.