An Ending and a New Beginning
There is nothing more exciting, beautiful and sometimes frightening than experiencing the beginning of something new to us. It could be a new stage in our life, moving to another country, the first working day of our new job, the opening of our new business, the birth of our first child or even the publication of the first issue of Mothering Matters. On the other hand, there is nothing more painful and sad than experiencing the ending of something. It could be a relationship, a friendship, a stage in our life, or, for example, the last written issue of Mothering Matters. Although I must say, ending something is not as negative as it seems to be, there is always something positive resulting out of it.
As 2012 came to end, 2013 marked the beginning of a new era for Mothering Matters – the digital era. As you can see, we are now an online magazine, with the same successful contents as before. The great features remain, the familiar columns continue with the addition of new ones, we now have photos as well as our lovely illustrations, there is still information about living in Switzerland and more. What is new is that our readers now have the opportunity to directly comment about our articles and columns. We have become more interactive! We have always loved hearing from our readers and from now on you have the opportunity to comment immediately, without the cost of a postage stamp!
The successful story of Mothering Matters is a story of an involved and motivated group of mothers, who wanted to help other mothers feel at home in a country away from home. It is a story of beginnings and endings too. It started nearly twenty years ago as a little newsletter for a group of breastfeeding mothers from the La Leche League, which later on developed into a leaflet, then into a booklet form. Now, it is starting today, in a new digital ‘‘life form”. WOW! We, the editorial team are excited and a little nervous. As I said at the beginning, when you start something new it is sometimes frightening to see if it will work out. But we hope and plan to be here for you, our readers, for many years.
So why are we becoming an online magazine? Quite simply, we didn’t want Mothering Matters to end. Part of the reason was our long-term team-member, layout designer and financial coordinator Susan Straubinger, who is also mother of two adult children, resigned from the team at the end of 2012, after almost 20 years commitment. With Susan leaving, combined with the high cost of printing, we knew it was time to move in a new direction. We believe in what we do, as we know our loyal readers do, and would like to always continue to be there for you. After much discussion and expending of energy, the Mothering Matters team decided to continue as a digital magazine.
Finally, for me personally, Mothering Matters has been and is continuing to be a wonderful and more than gratifying experience. Over the years I have met many wonderful women through it. I have learned to express my feelings in the written form and be more creative. So you can imagine how hard it would have been for me to let MM die. So we are continuing with the best we have always offered and then adding some more. Enjoy our first online issue and the next ones to come.
Please send us your name and e-mail address so we can notify you when new material has been published: info@familymattersswitzerland.ch
By Yvette Merzbacher
Yvette Merzbacher is a veteran team member of Mothering Matters with a deep commitment and belief in the journal.
Congratulations on the first issue of Mothering Matters online. May your efforts continue to grow into great success!
Thanks mom !! You are always there for me. Kisses
Congratulations on the first issue of Mothering Matters online. May your efforts continue to grow into great success!
Thanks mom !! You are always there for me. Kisses
Wow! What a brave new world! I must admit that I was a tad shocked and a little sad to read that it would no longer be in print. I had an article published in Mother Matters back in 2011 and it was the first time ever that I had had an article printed. Little was I to know, that it would be the start of a love affair with writing that leading to a book. And I owe it all to Mother Matters!
I look forward to Mothering Matters evolving and continuing to be an important resource for expat mothers in Switzerland,
Tammy
Fureycoaching
Wow! What a brave new world! I must admit that I was a tad shocked and a little sad to read that it would no longer be in print. I had an article published in Mother Matters back in 2011 and it was the first time ever that I had had an article printed. Little was I to know, that it would be the start of a love affair with writing that leading to a book. And I owe it all to Mother Matters!
I look forward to Mothering Matters evolving and continuing to be an important resource for expat mothers in Switzerland,
Tammy
Fureycoaching
Thanks, Tammy, for your positive comments. Great to hear. We, the MM team, were also sad that the print version finished but we are very optimistic about this digital version. Perhaps we can convince you to write for us again?!
Thanks, Tammy, for your positive comments. Great to hear. We, the MM team, were also sad that the print version finished but we are very optimistic about this digital version. Perhaps we can convince you to write for us again?!
Congratulations, and thanks for your great work over many years. It has always been an excellent resouce for the Expat community in Switzerland.
Congratulations, and thanks for your great work over many years. It has always been an excellent resouce for the Expat community in Switzerland.
Thanks, Graham , for the kind comments. Much appreciated.
Thanks, Graham , for the kind comments. Much appreciated.
More power to you and your team. With this new format and medium, may your reach widen and your resources be fully utilised. All the best!
More power to you and your team. With this new format and medium, may your reach widen and your resources be fully utilised. All the best!
Hi Bong.We hope it’ll be fully utilised too! Thanks a lot.
Hi Bong.We hope it’ll be fully utilised too! Thanks a lot.
Hey Andrea and team! Hi from sunny Australia! Hope winter is being kind to you all dreaming about warmer climates! Am excited for you moving in to the modern age … Loved writing an article for you in 2011 and will look forward to reading all your upcoming issues! It’s a brave new world out there and nice to see that you are embracing it! My wish for you all is that it gives you an even wider audience who will enjoy reading your useful, relevant reads!
Hi Melissah, Thanks for your sunny comments! You wrote a great article for our ‘Let’s Talk About Sex’ March 2012 issue, so be prepared, we might ask you to write again! It’s lovely to have a positive reaction about our new venture. Thanks again and stay cool!
Hi Melissah, Thanks for your sunny comments! You wrote a great article for our ‘Let’s Talk About Sex’ March 2012 issue, so be prepared, we might ask you to write again! It’s lovely to have a positive reaction about our new venture. Thanks again and stay cool!