Who am I

Buzz. Snooze. Buzz. Snooze. Buzz!! Ugh! That’s pretty much the way every day starts out. I’m just a mom who’s lived in Franklin Lakes for eight years, with three kids, a dog and a husband who’s been so busy at work lately that I feel like a single mom.

I am not, by any means, a morning person. When that alarm goes off in the morning, I fumble around for that snooze button, just so I can get an extra 10 minutes of sleep, like that’s gonna help. I guess it doesn’t help to be a night owl, working on various volunteer projects and hitting the sack around 2 a.m. every night — it might be prudent for me to rethink this strategy.

Personally, if I had a choice, I would much rather stay curled up in the warmth of my bed, ignore everything else around me and just sleep.  But, that is a luxury that I won’t be able to enjoy for another 12 years.  So, as the alarm is blaring in my ear, I remember that my oldest daughter can’t be late for school (again) or she will get reprimanded. So, reluctantly, I slide off the bed and head down the hall.

The rest of my morning consists of the usually mantra, “Hurry up, you’re going to be late!!! Let’s GO!” (Is this what it’s like in your house too?)  By this time, I’ve got the oldest off to school and I’m trying my darnedest to get the other two off the computer and upstairs.  After nagging them for what seems like forever, they shove another piece of waffle in their mouths and head up the stairs to brush their teeth. 

Around 8:45 a.m., I’m zipping around the house, quickly wrapping up my youngest in her bohemian garb and confirming with my son that his homework is complete and in his backpack.  Soon we are off…arriving at the school right when the late bell rings.  Perfect.

Once the craziness is over and I’m free to think, I take a quick peek at my schedule, decide what I can put off for another day and what I need to have done by pickup time.  Can I fit lunch in with my girlfriend?

Lately, it seems, I have been trying to “find myself” (I think I’ve hit that mid-life crisis point).  So, over the past few weeks, in hopes of finding a job that I truly enjoy, and that screams ME, I have plopped myself in front of the computer. 

If I am not searching for a job, I’m creating auction signs for the upcoming FLEF Dinner Dance (are you coming? You have to come…the theme is Old Hollywood, it is going to be so much fun), making handmade invitations for a client and taking online courses to keep my license as a Pharmacist, because my mom will have my head if I let that slide.

It was, in fact, during one of these crazy late night crusades that I came across Patch and voila, here I am, introducing myself to you.  Unfortunately, or fortunately for you, I do need to keep this relatively brief, because as all you moms out there know, once the kids get out of school, our real job begins.  I need to think about what I can concoct for dinner tonight as I start up the Mommy Taxi and get ready for my second job as chauffeur….first stop ballet in Waldwick, tennis in Fort Lee and then Karate here in town.

I’ll be back here again next Wednesday morning to talk about things that are really important to us moms and the things that are going on in Franklin Lakes. Please let me know if there’s anything special you’d like to hear about here. You can comment in the space below or drop me an email. Gotta run. See you next week!

* This is an article that I wrote for an online news site