Birmingham
I am not originally from Birmingham, but I grew up only about an hour north in Glencoe, Alabama. I have early memories of coming to Birmingham to the Riverchase Galleria each year for a back-to-school shopping spree with my mom, complete with a ladies lunch at The Olive Garden! (We may or may not have hidden a shopping bag or two in our trunk sometimes so my Dad wouldn’t panic over the damage we did!) I moved to Birmingham after college for an internship, and I’ve been here for over 20 years now! I love that Birmingham is big enough to have all the big city fun, yet small enough to maintain a community feel. Oh, and did I mention that I’m a bit of a foodie and LOVE the Birmingham restaurant scene?!?
Mom
I am a single mom to three wonderful children: AC (15), Grant (13), and Audrey (10). I was married for 17 years and have now been divorced for over three years, so I’ve experienced the stay-at-home married mom life as well as the single, working full-time mom gig. Through it all, here is what I have discovered about parenting: Just when you think you *might* sorta kinda have this parenting thing figured out, something changes and suddenly you are figuring it out all over again. Mom to a new baby? Hard. Toddler tantrums and potty training? Exhausting. Homework and all the activities? So busy. Hormones and friend troubles? Tricky. All of those stages are a new adventure, each with a new learning curve. Being a mom is constant “on the job training”. But when your baby laughs or your child draws you a picture or your teen wants a hug, it’s the most amazing feeling in the world! What a privilege motherhood is! We are learning and growing every day, just like our kids.
Collective
I am so thrilled to be joining the Birmingham Mom Collective as a contributor! I have been in the “audience” of BMC for a few years, and it is such a fun community of mothers with tons of helpful resources! I’m excited to be able to share my perspective as a single working mother as well as other topics I love, like fashion and food and faith. It’s so connecting to be able to learn from others and to share with others on our parenting journey. We need each other, and I’m so thankful to be a part of that!
