Family Strength was formed with the aim of providing single mothers all of the knowledge and support they need to be able to take on the many challenges they face in life, from fitting family around work to negotiating the many pitfalls of parenthood alone.
Who I Am
Before you start exploring the site I want to give you a little more insight into who I am and what qualifies me to write about the subjects of family, parenthood and health. My name is Julia Forrester and I am a single mom from Minnesota. My journey to parenthood started unexpectedly, as I got pregnant with a man I had only been dating for a couple of months. Unfortunately, the relationship didn’t stand the test of time and I was left to take on the challenges of raising a child without a husband around.
Prior to the pregnancy, I had been a bodybuilder and had been fond of fitness since I was in school. This offered me a number of tools. Firstly, my dedication to maintaining my fitness has taught me the importance of discipline and willpower, which I have applied to raising my daughter, Ashley.
Secondly, this passion has also been turned into a career and I now work as a freelance health and nutrition expert, consulting with clients on the best ways to achieve what they are looking for from their fitness journeys.
Going freelance has allowed me to fit my work around my daughter and I have risen to the challenges of single parenthood. With this blog I hope to encourage others to do the same.
Raising My Daughter
I am an author because even though I’m a single parent I wouldn’t have managed to succeed as I have on my own. Though my ex is no longer in the picture, I have had untold support from my family, especially from my two sisters – Amanda and Anna.
Together we have been able to provide everything that my little Ashley needs in life and they have given me so much useful advice, as have the many websites that I scoured when preparing myself for the single parent life.
I struck upon the idea of creating this blog because I wanted to share what I had learned with others.
Family Strength
Family Strength came about because I realized just how much I have been helped by those closest to me in raising my daughter, especially during those first few years where it felt like everything was going to get on top of me.
I also learned that not everybody has access to the same support system that I have and I felt an overwhelming urge to do whatever I could to help these people.
Having been impressed by so many of the mommy blogs that I’d found during my own journey into parenthood, particularly the bravery shown by the amazing women who has shared their stories with others, I decided to create my own in the hope that what I have to say can help others to lead healthy lives while ensuring that their children get all they need to be happy.
My main message is that single parenthood doesn’t have to be as scary as it seems. As long as you have the love and support of the friends and family around you, alongside the advice you can find from the Family Strength community, you have all of the tools you need to provide for your children and give them the best life possible.
My Goals For The Future
I have always been a goal-oriented person, which is why I have been able to make a success of my career in fitness consulting.
By applying this mindset to my parenting and this website, I hope to build an even larger audience and provide a great life for Ashley, while also inspiring others to do the same for themselves.
To do this I have set five goals for Family Strength:
- Be the number one source of information for single mothers.
- Always provide usable and relevant advice.
- Create a strong community of people who work together.
- Be there for anybody who needs us.
- Earn an income from the site that I can invest back into my family and site goals.
I’m well on my way to achieving all of those goals and I truly hope that you will join me along the way.
Take Care And Stay Strong – Julia Forrester
