I said so

SOCIETY LIFE: What’s one of your earliest memories you have of your Mom? ELENA ELLIS: For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be just like her. She was, and still is, an amazing role model. She made motherhood look effortless. The very earliest thing I think I can remember was right after my brother was born. I was about 2-and-a-half years old and we were sitting on the couch together—me, my mom and my brother. My mom was breastfeeding my newborn brother and I sat right next to her with one of my dolls mimicking her. This might have been the very first time I tried to follow her lead as a mom, but it certainly wasn’t the last. To this day, I rely on her for sound advice when I need motherhood guidance—which seems like all the time!

SL: What is something you thought about Motherhood that was totally wrong? EE: I thought it would be easier because I wanted it so badly! The desire to be a mother just seemed to be in my genetic makeup from birth. Even from very young whenever people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up—my answer was always, “a Mommy.” And it still is. It is the most important job that I have and the one that I work the hardest at, however becoming a mom was a very hard and long journey for me that forced me to question myself repeatedly if it was ever meant to be.

SL: What is something you always wanted to do but didn’t... and why didn’t you? EE: I wanted to travel the world modeling. I gave it a good shot and worked professionally from the time I was 11-yearsold until about 18 when I decided to retire (I laugh) and go to college along with all of my peers the same age. I was scheduled to head to Europe for the first time—Paris then

Germany—but it didn’t feel right. I didn’t want to live out of a suitcase, and I don’t regret it. It was a difficult decision to stay home, but in hindsight it was the right one. I lost my dad to cancer just a year after I got married and not long after graduating from college. If I’d chosen a different path I would have missed all of those years with him. That I would have regreted way more!

SL: Was there something your Mom did when you were a kid that you swore you’d never do as a parent? EE: I have thought a lot about this question for several reasons—for one, she’s proofing these pages so I have to be nice (hi Mom!) and the other is because, as I have already alluded to, she was an amazing mom. But I did come up with one thing. I swore I’d never make my daughter wear those pink foam rollers in her hair overnight. Those suckers were so uncomfortable and I hated them. I used to think, “Why do I have to have curly hair for church on Sunday... God knows my hair is straight... He made it that way.” (sorry Mom!)

SL: What did you think you wanted to be when you grew up? EE: I knew I wanted to be a Mommy, as I mentioned in a prior question, however I thought I wanted to be a doctor for a while. That all changed one hot summer day when my family was out in our backyard. My mom and dad were doing yard work while my brother and I played. My mom was edging around my playhouse that had a roofline that was just about level with her forehead. Unbeknownst to her, when she bumped her head on it, she started bleeding. Now, I came running over to her and see my mom with blood running down her face! In my defense, the sweat and blood had mixed