B.A. in
Child Development
20 years experience working with early childhood,
elementary, secondary and postsecondary
5 years experience in educational support
This picture of my mom, my sister and me is, by far, my favorite picture of my mom. She, however, thinks she looks exhausted.
The truth is, she WAS exhausted. For several years, she raised two little girls on her own. She was responsible for our physical, emotional, social and spiritual health. While she had a community of people to support her, at the end of the day, mom was the one tucked us into bed. When she remarried, she shared the parenting responsibility a little more. However, she had already built strong routines that were hard to break.
Mornings were the same: get us up, get us ready, get us fed, take a call, maybe get a shower, put on clothes (hopefully they matched), get us to school, and get to work in time to meet her next patient, or start her next meeting.
Evenings were the same, too: bring work home, help with school work, or fight with me to do mine, juggle bills, balance checkbooks, clip coupons, miraculously save the day with the costume/poster board/class treat/ black closed toe shoes/Valentine’s Day box/etc, finish completing a patient’s notes/chart…the list goes on.
Do not let this cute little girl in the ball pit fool you! I was not an easy kid to raise. I was very energetic, mischievous, defiant, stubborn, and always eager to learn. With an ADD diagnosis, I struggled in school. Learning was easy for me, but staying focused and following through was not my strong suit. Though my mom helped me find tips, tricks and techniques to help me learn, it was not always a pretty process. I know she wishes she had had someone else to help me with my school work.
Those years were, I now know, exhausting, all consuming, terrifying, and tire-some. Though raising us girls was rewarding (as I am sure she will tell you), she rarely had time for herself! Doing basic human things, such as showering without interruption, were novel concepts to my mom. Time with her girlfriends, or time to herself, was nearly unheard of when she was raising us girls.
Today, I look at my close mama friends and family members, and I realize that nothing has changed. If anything, the pressures have gotten worse. Mamas continue to go through the same endless days of constant to-do lists, and they only end up feeling drained of time, energy and focus. Few things fill up their cup, and that is not ok!
Though I am not a mother myself, I have shared these days with many mamas. I know how hard it can be. It is my passion and purpose to help mamas find a moment of peace one to-do list at a time.