I met Jen very briefly at Alt Summit, but didn’t get to know her until I was back in Seattle. Now I just want to hang out with her all the time. Here are some of her thoughts about motherhood.
What surprised you about motherhood?
I think the thing that has surprised me most about motherhood is how you can create a human being that has half of your genetic coding and yet, they’re completely and wholly independent from you. I mean, sometimes I look at my kids and wonder where on earth they came from. They’re far more clever than I ever was, and wiser too.
Going into parenting, I thought I’d teach my children about life, but what I’ve discovered is that they teach me as much as I teach them.
What is one of your favorite memories about your mother?
We were pretty broke growing up. There was a period of time when my dad couldn’t find work and my mom worked night shifts and random jobs so my dad could search for jobs and interview during the day. It was a pretty stressful time for everyone, including me and my siblings.
During this period, we didn’t get much in the way of gifts or toys. Only natural, of course. But there was one gift in particular that sticks out in my mind. While my brother and I were at school on Valentine’s Day, my mom made us heart pillows. Each one had our names in cursive and little Xs and Os embroidered onto them.
We came home from school that day to find Mom standing in the living room with her hands behind her back. “I have a surprise for you.” Excitement grew in our bellies. “Happy Valentine’s Day!” Then she stretched out her arms and held out two red hearts. One for each of us.
It’s one of my favorite memories from childhood.
What is one of your favorite things about being a mother?
My favorite thing about becoming a mother? That the job title came with two amazing kids that I get to watch grow into two amazingly incredible people. Not that I’m at all biased, of course.
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In addition to having dance parties with her awesome children, you can find Jennifer writing Classic Play and designing toys at Ellie Bellie Kids. She recently hosted a children’s community art show, and inspired me to add that to my Mighty Life List.