Q&A Tell us about one of your proudest mom moments. Taking my oldest to college this past fall, I felt a profound sense of pride. I knew in my heart I had done everything humanly possible to love, provide, guide and encourage this beautiful child. I knew that all the time and energy I had spent with her when she was little—reading, playing, baking, listening, building LEGO®, having “tea,” being consistent with boundaries, and showing grace when I could—was all paying off. I could see in her eyes the readiness to face this big change. I couldn’t have been prouder!
Now tell us about one of your most humbling mom moments. We walked through a very difficult time when our daughter started having severe anxiety going to bed at night during elementary school. She would lay awake for hours, sometimes crying, moaning, scared. We knew something wasn’t right and we tried everything we could to try and help. It got the point where she was having suicidal thoughts. At this point we felt helpless and, honestly, I was freaking out! Here we were trying to do everything right and provide everything our little girl needed, and it all seemed futile. I was very humbled as a mom. I started to question my value and capability as a mom to meet my kids’ needs. 12 mommag.com
It eventually surfaced that our daughter was being bullied at school. We addressed what needed to be addressed with the school, parents, etc. All in all, this took nine months of sleepless nights and heartwrenching concern for our child. We were exhausted, worn and weary. The good news is that we came out super strong in our relationship with our daughter and with each other and, even with some of the other families involved. It also strengthened our daughter’s resolve in life, and in her faith, like nothing we could have orchestrated.
As a mom I learned that I really am not in control. I believe God is in control of our kiddos' lives and he takes them through what He knows is best for them. Even if I do everything right (which I know I won’t), they’re still their own little person and they have their own choices to make and path to walk. I’m just thankful I get to walk alongside them as best I can. We’re all moms so we know that no one is perfect all of the time, or even some of the time. Tell us about your most recent “Mother of the Year” moment. You know, like forgetting to pick the kids up from school. Well there’s the time I accidentally locked my sleeping infant in the house while showing my toddlers the awesome thunderstorm outside and had to run down
the road in the rain to get a neighbor to help me break into my house. More recently, after attending a high school production, our daughter introduced us to one of the actors. I recognized his name, so I emphatically said, “Oh, you’re (insert name), I’ve heard so much about you!” My poor daughter’s face turned bright red and she was so embarrassed. She had told me about this particular person, but that was not the thing to say. Oops! What is something you swore you would never do before kids that you now do? Drive a minivan. In high school I used to joke that minivans were the universal sign of fertility. I swore I would drive a cool car if I had kids—like an SUV. However, once our youngest was born, we gave in. For a brief time we even had two minivans.
No one works harder than mom. We know that being a mom is a full-time job. Tell us about your work or volunteerism outside of the home. I’ve been a nurse for 19 years and, during that time, have had periods of being at home full-time and working. Two years ago I decided to make a big change in my career. I chose to leave mainstream nursing and serve at a non-profit organization in an area I am passionate about—educating and empowering women and young girls. Now I am the nurse manager at You Medical, a non-profit, pro-life organization and I work full-time. Although being a stay-at-home mom is my favorite job, You Medical is a close runner up—I get to meld my profession of nursing with my faith, and my love for people.
How do you balance (or not) motherhood, activities, work, volunteering, household responsibilities, and life in general? Typically, what falls through the cracks? My kids and my husband are a huge help, and essential for me “balancing” everything. Between church activities, work, home, sports and school, we stay pretty busy. The kids help with chores and food prep every day. Regular exercise, reading the Bible and time outside help me a lot. I find “balance” is a loose term and I often lose my footing. Unfortunately, the thing that falls through the cracks is my attitude. Kindness, patience