Five Minutes with a Classic Mom: "The greatest gift I hope to give my children is love."

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Five Minutes with a Classic Mom: "The greatest gift I hope to give my children is love."

April 30, 2009

On Teleflora.com, our Mother's Day shopping guide identifies various types of moms - for example, Super Mom, Gourmet Mom, Classic Mom, etc. On the blog, I'm highlighting a series of real moms who exemplify each one of the categories.

Classic Mom Angela of Clothesline Chronicles http://clothesline-chronicles.blogspot.com explains: "I have been married for almost 15 years and am the mother of two beautiful girls, ages 6 and 4. Before having children I was a middle school math teacher both in Virginia and on the island of Moloka'i in Hawaii.

"I began my blog after following many inspiring craft, sewing, and homeschool blogs. The initial reasoning for blogging was to keep my family and friends informed on our daily lives. Clothesline Chronicles is still keeping my family informed but it is also a wonderful creative outlet where I can share things I've created."

Five Minutes with a Classic Mom

Q What job, prior to motherhood, best prepared you for being a mom?
A Before becoming a mother I was a middle school teacher. Nothing could have prepared me more for motherhood than the daily interaction with my students. There were so many different personalities within each class that I had to figure out the best way to encourage, motivate, discipline, and teach each one of them while still achieving all of the goals for the day.

My own two children could not be more different and although I love them both so dearly they need it demonstrated in different ways.

Q What’s a lesson your child(ren) taught you?
A So far in their young lives the greatest lesson my girls have taught me is that spontaneous creativity usually has the most wonderful results. Having a time of arts and crafts, sewing, or just playtime is always fun with my girls, but the planner in me often times misses the unexpected opportunity for spontaneous creativity.

When we create things on a whim it is more special and more memorable for me and the girls because they are usually the driving force behind it. And if I'm a good blogger I'll capture it on camera and share it on my blog.

Q What’s the greatest gift you hope to give your child(ren)?
A The greatest gift I hope to give my children is love. I want them to know they are loved and to love others. I want them to love Jesus our Saviour, study His word, and follow His example by being a light in the world for Him.

Q What is your favorite piece of parenting advice and how did you acquire it?
A My favorite piece of parenting advice was not in the form of words, it was action. Being married for eight years before having children allowed me to learn from my friends and family by watching them go through the different phases of parenthood. I observed so many different styles of parenting over the years and I soaked it all in like a sponge.

Some mothers nursed their newborns on a schedule and some nursed on demand, some began potty training at the first sign of interest while others waited until a particular birthday or time of year, some placed their children in preschool and some stayed at home with their children. I could go on with so many more examples, but I won't.

What I will do is tell you that watching, asking questions, and learning from my friends and family as they entered the wonderful gift that is motherhood helped me to become a better mother before I even had my first baby.

Q What inspires you?
A Life. Life inspires me. The world around me is filled with beautiful colors and textures and sounds and I use those things in my creative process. It doesn't matter if it's sewing or crocheting or if it's drawing and coloring with my girls, God's creation around me is the inspiration.

Q What’s your favorite way to relax and recharge?
A My favorite way to relax and recharge is most certainly spending a nice, warm, sunny day at the beach with my family. A nice long walk looking for seashells, building a sandcastle, playing in the waves...just put me on a beach with the wind blowing and sand between my toes and I'll be relaxed and recharged before the sun goes down.

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