Hello World!
You’ve heard those questions before, right? Can women really have it all? And at the same time? If you haven’t heard these questions before, I am referring to the desire for today’s modern women to be wives, mothers and career women. (For the record, these questions are not asked of men…)
These questions and answers were explored in the first episode of “Mary Mary,” the reality show featuring chart-topping gospel duo Mary Mary which will premiere on Thursday, March 29 at 10 p.m. on WE tv. (The reality show will officially start airing on Thursday, April 5 at 9 p.m.) I went to the Atlanta premiere of the show which was held at Greater’s Travelers Rest Baptist Church in Decatur last week.
Mary Mary on the red carpet...
Between Erica & Tina Campbell (they are both married to unrelated men with the last name Campbell. Isn’t that cute?), they have two husbands, six (soon to be seven) children as Tina is pregnant, three Grammy Awards and a thriving career in the spotlight…
Erica Campbell, Rosie Pisani, vice president senior vice president of marketing for WE tv; Tina Campbell..
In the first episode, Mary Mary are presented with an opportunity to perform at Macy’s Great Christmas Tree Lighting concert on Thanksgiving Day. Mary Mary are excited about the the opportunity to perform in Atlanta in front of 100,000 people in Atlanta, as our city is a top city for their fans! However, Erica & Tina, the wives and mothers, are not too excited to be leaving their families on such a special holiday, particularly since Tina’s oldest daughter Laiah will be performing at a glee concert during that time…
Mama Braxton also came to the premiere...
There is also drama surrounding Erica’s pregnancy as she begins having contractions before a performance. (She has actually had a beautiful baby girl, Zaya Monique, since then who also attended the premiere:) And now Tina is pregnant!) And Mitchell, Mary Mary’s manager, and their sister known as Goo Goo, who is their stylist, have a confrontation! I won’t give it all away…but I will say that if Mitchell had his way, Goo Goo would be good and gone!
Nicci Gilbert formerly of the '90s R&B group Brownstone...
Viewers also get to know Erica & Tina’s mother Honey, who was their first choir director at Evangelistc Church of God in Christ in California. My grade of their first show: A. And I’m not saying it because they are a Christian group with their own reality show. I enjoyed the show because it was positive and had enough drama to get my attention. Plus, they are in their ’30s like me, and I appreciate that realistic black women (even if they are superstars) also have a voice in the sometimes unrealistic reality TV genre..More pics from the premiere are below…
Celebrity photographer Derek Blanks was in the house...
Comedian & Minister John Gray interviewed the duo about their new reality show...He was hilarious!
A pint-sized Mary Mary fan in her quest to win a door prize!
They also performed their new single "Go Get It." The album will be available on May 8.
Each person who attended the premiere was asked to bring a canned good, and the canned goods were donated to the Atlanta Community Food Bank.
My answer is no and that is not just limited to a successful career, marriage and children, but all those things in between ( engagement in civic and social activities, time for self, physical health, connection to spiritual and religious organizations and the list goes on). I don’t have children yet and I think it’s a constant juggling act. A constant attempt to exercise, eat right, focus on my purpose and destiny, support my husband in his career, find time to read great books, do laundry, cook, go to the grocery store, EXERCISE (did I say that already :-)), relax, catch up with my sorors, spend time with new friends, RELAX. For the women I know who do have children, something at some point had/has to give. Things seem to operate in seasons. I could go on for days, but I will just summarize by quoting what I was told one: you can have it all, just not all at the same time!
I agree, but I also think that some, for whatever reason, are better at juggling than others…I have a hard enough time, and I don’t have a spouse or kids, but I know someone who are wives, mothers, have thriving careers like Mary Mary and seem to be balancing it all…I don’t know how they do it…AND I feel you I must exercise and keep myself together physically, emotionally and spiritually before I tend to others and that is a full-time job…I probably sound selfish, but that is how I feel…
I do think some are bette than others, but I don’t think Mary Mary count on the same level as people we “know.” The people I know – know struggle with it daily. And they can’t afford nannies or working a flexed schedule.
Typo: “better”
Women can have it all but not at the same time; and often time at a cost. I agree seasons. I have a friend who has reentered the workforce after raising her family–that is two college grads and one senior in college, and a grand baby. She has a job, but promotions demand returning to school. She laments. But why her priority is her family: her children, her husband, and her grandchild. And this woman is thr CEO of her family. Me, well 40 something divorced with a teen and a young adult. I’m testing the concept, can I have it all the second time around.
I agree Angchronicles…I’m trying to figure out what’s necessary for me too…