Color me surprised that people want to hear my thoughts on being a mother! Trust me when I say I am always willing to give my opinion but this time I am being asked and I am honored to be a contributor. Motherhood has made me realize that I really can do anything – not matter how tired I am.
I grew up in Merrimack, NH with my parents and brother, Ron. We moved to Vermont in 1994 – I was a sophomore in high school and was not thrilled to leave everything I knew and loved to move to a place I thought only had a cow population. I survived South Burlington High School and even managed to make a few friends in the process.
I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do with my life and after being at UVM for a year, decided it was best to just keep working. I worked and ran a dog daycare for about 8 years and then became the Office Manager at an accounting firm for another 8 years. During those 16 years I got married, divorced, remarried, and had twin boys in June of 2012, Clark and Dean.
During my maternity leave I changed careers again and am now the Temple Administrator at Temple Sinai in South Burlington. I made lots of changes in a short period of time but I am thrilled with motherhood and also working fulltime for a nonprofit – which has always been a goal of mine. At the end of the day, I want to feel good about what I do and I think I have accomplished that.
In my spare time (ha!) I am a student at Champlain College, part-time and online. I should have a degree Fall of 2014 and I will be able to tell my kids that really I have done all the things I have set out to do.
People ask me all the time, “How do you do it? It must be so hard!” Sure, it’s not the way it used to be. Now I consider sleeping in 7 am and working out is something I do AFTER the kids go to sleep, if I have the energy. Being a mother of twins or a singleton isn’t easy but it’s what we all wanted and in the end we are truly blessed to have these children in our lives. It can be overwhelming but it’s the giggling, smiling, clapping, and silliness of my boys that fills my heart and makes me feel complete.
Today is the last day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. This is a time when we are supposed to be introspective, look at the past year and decide what changes to make this coming year. While the last year of my life has been full of many changes I look forward to the year to come – including getting to know all of you!
Shana Tova (A Good Year),
Stacie
welcome!
So glad you are a part of this team Stacie!