Welcome!
I’m Gina, an overcaffeinated, nature-loving mom of two girls. These days, when I’m not writing, you can usually find me scouring my backyard for interesting birds, agonizing over how much screen time my kids have consumed in the wake of COVID-19, and fueling myself with a combination of coffee and chocolate. I’m so glad you’re here!
To jump to my published articles, click here.
To visit my blog, where I occasionally ramble about topics that inspire me, click here.
Why I started this blog, and a little more about me
It was always my dream to become a writer when I grew up. I have a Bankers Box overflowing with the diaries and spiral notebooks I filled with my tween and teen angst. Apparently, I was a bit dramatic at times. Now much older and only slightly wiser, I started blogging about motherhood as a way to help me process thoughts and experiences, and with the hope that I might reawaken that creative part of my brain.
Since starting this blog in 2014, I’ve found that writing has enabled me to work through some of the challenging aspects of parenthood: the loss of one’s former identity, the sleep deprivation, the endless worries and what-ifs that go along with raising little extensions of ourselves. I hope that if you’re reading this, you might see some of your own parenting experiences reflected and know that you’re not alone.
Having lost my mom to breast cancer before my children were born, I’ve felt her absence at every turn of my own motherhood journey. I’m a proud board member of ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis, a wonderful organization that provides personalized emotional support to anyone affected by breast cancer – patients, family members, and friends. Being able to help others on this journey has been healing, but bittersweet. I wanted more than anything for my mom to be here for her grandchildren, to be able to turn to her for the sage advice and upbeat perspective she always offered when I was growing up. She was my closest confidante, someone to whom I could bare my soul knowing she’d understand without question or judgment. More than anything, I miss our conversations, both the depth and the hilarity of the subject matter we could share with each other.
My mom was an amazing writer, and I feel more connected to her when I express my thoughts this way, too. After her death in 2004, I decided to write her a letter each year to update her on what she had missed, and to reflect on how I’ve grown and changed. I’d love to turn these letters into a book someday.
When I’m not hunched over a computer, I love getting out there and being active, whether that means hitting the pool or enjoying a run, in all its sweaty, chafed glory. After some unexpected health challenges in 2011, I learned to redefine my own limitations, and have since completed two sprint triathlons, a duathlon, three half marathons, and an open water race.
I’d be remiss not to mention my lovely husband, who is my partner in crime and instantly made me fall for him by teaching me how to win a card game in college. I couldn’t do this parenting thing without him, and I’m grateful he shares my weird sense of humor. He tolerates my quirks and my tendency to obsess over things; in return, I try to look past his misguided conviction that white chocolate qualifies as real chocolate.
Oh, one more thing…
You’ll notice that a lot of my blog posts mention coffee. It became a part of my daily routine after our second daughter was born, but I also think my affinity for this beverage must be in my blood. My mom was fond of saying, “Wherever you are, you’ve gotta have a good cup of coffee!” I remember many instances when my dad, brother, sister and I would be waiting in the car, engine running, until my mom scrambled out of the house, clutching a mug of Folgers she’d brewed moments ago. Come to think of it, it’s really surprising how infrequently her coffee spilled all over the car, given that she never covered it with a lid.
But I digress. Thanks for reading and visiting my little slice of the Internet!
