You are probably wondering “How did she end up here?”– who doesn’t love a good backstory? So it all began when… Raised in CT and attended Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida (Go Tars!) I did what felt like a right of passage for someone who grew up in Fairfield County, I graduated from school and moved to New York City. My sister helped pull some strings with her friends (she is clearly the older, cooler sister) that worked in the media industry and I accepted my first really BIG GIRL job in media buying, managing some of the top brands and working alongside major TV networks. One Thanksgiving while with my family down in Jersey I got a phone call from a network that a spot opened up and would my client want to run their creative. I ran to a bedroom, took out my laptop so that I could see which commercial should run while emailing with my superiors (this was a costly decision that I did not want to screw up!). After close to 30 minutes the decision was made and I returned to Thanksgiving with an internal struggle that there has to be more to life than television commercials (think Cher in Clueless describing finding meaning in Pauly Shore movies) which led me to enroll at Hunter College (I could not even tell you the mascot but it was pretty cool that it was my mom’s alma mater too!) to begin the journey of a Masters in Childhood Education. My media job was completely supportive of me completing the degree and working at the agency at the same time. After a grueling 3 years it came time to do student teaching which meant I had to resign from the media world to go for an unpaid internship in New York City’s finest public schools. I left the world of Corporate America and began, what I thought would be, my life-long career journey in education. I worked in the Bronx, Washington Heights, Greenwich, Stamford, Weston in public schools, private schools, as a teacher, as a compliance coordinator (I’ll explain more on this later) to an Asst. Director of Special Ed. I worked with 1st grade through 12th grade. I worked with families who were not very involved to the snowplow parent (demolishing anything in the pathway of their kid). During all of this I got married, had 3 kids, bought and sold houses and everything came to a head trying to understand “What am I doing?”.
The Moment I Realized…
Every morning I woke at 5am and was out the door no later than 6:15am. Usually tiptoeing out of the house not to wake my sons and giving my husband a peck goodbye. I would get in my car, grab my coffee, chat with my best friend (yes, she is up this early too, we are both nuts) and be seated at my desk by 6:45am. Throughout the day I would take on my many responsibilities until 4:30pm would roll around in which I would get back in my car, drive home and chat with my mom (this would be the first phone call with her in the evening, more to come). Arriving home around 5pm my youngest didn’t want to go near me, my middle and oldest child were finishing up dinner (we are an early to bed family) and they would soon tuck away into bed. And then that was it. I got all of 45 minutes with my kids. Less with the youngest. Everyday I was dedicated to supporting everyone else’s kids but at the cost of being with my own. When a shift in schedule occurred with daycares it became clear that day that the right place for me was home with my boys. We made the extremely difficult decision for me to stop working in a traditional setting after 16 years. This decision was one that was to allow me to do the things I wanted to do, be there with my boys, finish my dissertation, begin opening my own business (advocacy for parents and executive function coaching for kids) and starting this sweet journey of The Average Mom CT.
Why The Average Mom CT?
As an avid user of social media (mainly insta and facebook with the endless scrolls in TikTok) I came to two realizations: 1. Bloggers and Influencers on social media are PERFECTION – I can’t tell you how many times I have seen an influencer do try-ons and state that the size double zero was a little big on them and they will probably have to have it taken in or that the new furniture/decor/projects in their home linked for purchase (No Karen, I can not afford a $400 bar stool from S&L!!) 2. I yearn for the dreamy home perfection (who doesn’t?) I want outfits that are trendy and put together (who doesn’t) but I am average. If I want to do something in my house it is on a tiiiiiiiiiiight budget (Thanks J!). If I am going to cook a meal it is going to be without understanding measurements because I wing it. And my clothing or try-ons will be whatever I can find that tucks in the pooch and handles because I am NOT a tiny/petite little person – I am AVERAGE! (Holler to all my size 12+ girls out there – you beautiful!) So this blog, instagram, facebook, whatever you are tuning in on, is for you, my average (& amazing) friend. Follow the journey.
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