I am a mother, woman, wife, volunteer, daughter, coach, writer, marketer, entrepreneur, friend, baker, procrastinator, Daisy Scout troop leader, risk taker, room parent, nanny, athlete, over-achiever, trouble-maker, chauffeur, neighbor, sister, competitor and lunatic. I am confident, bold, self-conscious, independent, scared, fashionable, out-spoken, understanding, dorky, funny, inappropriate, shy, flabby, strong, critical, inquisitive, accepting, loving, generous, reserved and confused. And I have good hair.
I’m every woman. It’s all in me!
I was born in Tacoma, WA and grew up in Nazareth, PA in a supportive family with strong and loving parents and a kick-ass older sister. I graduated from Syracuse University with a BS in Advertising and a BS in Marketing and took a job in insurance, which had absolutely nothing to do with anything I had ever done or had any interest in. The job transferred me to Hartford and eventually to the Boston area in 1997 where I immediately left insurance, later met my husband and put down roots to raise a family. We moved to Wakefield in 2005 and have become fully entrenched in the community. I love it in this crazy little town!
Make no mistake. I have absolutely no business giving anyone parenting advice. I do most things wrong. But, my kids are miraculously happy, well-mannered and seemingly productive members of society for 5- and 7-year-olds. (As an aside, I recently listened to a brief interview with Bryan Caplan, who wrote Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids, a book detailing that “upbringing is much less important than genetics in the long run.” Interesting stance! Take that, Tiger Mom!)
As I have explained in a previous post, I am a working mom, attempting to strike the perfect balance of being mommy and being me. I work part-time from home as an Internet Marketing Manager for a company based in Pennsylvania. When I’m not doing that, I am perfecting my cake baking and cupcake making skills, preparing to dominate the world and cover it in buttercream. And when I’m not doing either of those things, I’m hanging out with my husband and kids, volunteering for various school and town committees, exercising and obsessively checking email. The two things I am generally NOT doing are sleeping or cleaning my house. You know, something’s gotta give!
Since I’m revealing so much fascinating information about myself, here are some things few people know about me:
- I have walked on hot coals.
- I have been in two fist fights.
- I cry easily.
- I have always wanted to be a hairdresser.
- I would give a kidney – or give up tequila – to never have to do laundry again.
- Until I had children and all pride went out the window, I would lip sync “Happy Birthday” because my singing voice is so terrible.
- I wanna be a billionaire so freakin’ bad.
- In a former life I was a Mary Kay Consultant.
- I have more ideas than three lifetimes would ever allow me to act upon.
- My parents are two of my best friends.
I try not to take myself – or life – too seriously. I attempt to live without looking back, doing the best that I can without second-guessing my decisions. I apply this philosophy to parenting as much as possible, but there are nights when I replay the day and wish I’d done it differently. I remind myself that dwelling doesn’t help and that I’ll just do better tomorrow. Every day is a new day to try again, and I attempt to do that regularly. I hope to pass this on to my kids. Life is hard enough without beating yourself up about it.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience of writing for Wakefield Patch. It’s given me an opportunity to think, create, communicate, (hopefully) entertain and solidify my own opinions on various topics. I thank you all for reading, and hope you continue to do so!
