A Day In The Life Of A Mom, A Marketer And A Non-Profit Devotee...

I am covered in paste. Again. This always seems to happen when I spend time in kindergarten, which I try to do every Monday morning. Holding this space sacred is hard. It seems like there is always a work meeting that comes up that I have to decline or move around. But it is a big deal to my daughter. A really big deal. And I am aware of the fact that before long she will no longer think I am cool enough to be around her friends let alone volunteer in her classroom (hint: I have a teenager too!) so I work hard to make this time of the week sacred.

But I digress… did I mention I am covered in paste? Normally this isn’t a big deal. I always seem to get the gluing or painting project so after I finish I head home to remove my ‘kindergarten uniform’ of jeans, t-shirt and very comfortable shoes. But today was different. There was no time for home. My day was literally packed solid with kindergarten, work meetings and meetings for my ‘heart projects’ as I label my non-profit work. Today I had worn a dress and heels to kindergarten.

As I ran out of the school rubbing paste off my hands and arms I really did try to make sure I didn’t have anything glued to my dress or my legs or my shoes but I was running (as usual) trying to fit too much into one day. Walking into my work meeting I figured full disclosure would – as usual – be the best policy so I fessed up about my pasting adventure and solicited help finding any missed objects glued to me (just on my shoes luckily) along with some magic marker on my dress. Nothing I could do about that now!Funny enough this moment of humanity got my meeting off to the perfect start. My client and I are just getting to know each other but like me she is a mom trying to balance it all, and we felt an instant kinship and understanding about how hard this balancing act can be. We jumped right in reviewing packaging and discussing next steps for her website and other brand materials. Great meeting (paste and all) I decided as I headed to my next meetings, the first of which included lunch – thank goodness.The last stop of the day was running a board meeting for one of my heart projects – Gallo Center for the Arts – where I am in the home stretch of finishing my term as Board Chair. It is a lively board with lots of big personalities, which always keeps me on my toes. I wish I could use the clapping trick that my daughter’s kindergarten teacher uses. Clap, clap… and the kids clap, clap, clap back and close their mouths. Just doesn’t seem to work with this group. Today was a key meeting because in a addition to lots of other important topics we were discussing an upcoming event that is critical to our annual fundraising goals. I needed the board dialed in and focused on the fundraising goal as they had to each go out and make individual asks. We discussed strategies and shared tips and I made sure to greet or say good-bye to each board member – another great tip from kindergarten where kids demand this individual attention.After the board meeting I ran to my car to head home checking voicemail as I drove (not email – I promise!) trying hard to remember what I was going to make for dinner. Luckily I had done all my planning and shopping over the weekend – otherwise dinners become a hodge-podge of whatever I can find in the pantry and fridge. Not usually a hit with the family!As I walked in the door greeted with a huge hug from my daughter (6 year olds are so awesome) I was thinking about a phrase a good friend taught me about, “Putting 10lbs of stuff in a 5lb purse.” (She’s from Texas – don’t they just have the best phrases?) Anyway it’s a great visual and I use this phrase all the time when explaining my crazy world to people. But truth be told I wouldn’t have it any other way, I love stuffing 10lbs of stuff in my 5lb purse!