What is the most rewarding part of being a mom?

Watching my kids be proud of something they’ve accomplished is unlike anything else I’ve ever experienced. The coolest part of it is to watch how it evolves as they get older - from taking a few steps on their own to successfully competing a new gymnastics skill to conquering a really hard conversation between friends. Nothing makes my heart burst with happiness/pride faster than seeing them search for me and flash that “look what I did” smile (which goes from their eyes straight to their toes).

What is the biggest lesson motherhood has taught you?

I’ve learned a lot about adaptive attentiveness. At first, it was all about nurturing/protecting pieces of my heart that now walk around in the world. As they grow, it’s less hands-on and more assessing true needs from a distance—resisting the crazy strong urge to "fix" so they can feel the pride in achieving. I’ve learned to pay close attention; kids are fantastic teachers. Seeing through their unfiltered eyes is an honor - and there is a certain brutal honesty only a two-year-old can provide!

What would you do with $20,000?

We would put some of it in college funds to help set the kids up for later and hopefully avoid them having insane loans to start off their adult life. I think it would be cool to use the other part to encourage doing some good. Maybe we could have the kids pick a charity and each of them write a “proposal” on why we should choose their charity to donate to. Or, do a fundraising match and match whatever they each raise for a given charity or cause. Something to encourage creative ways of giving!