This Mother’s Day, I want to honor my daughter.
On August 8, 2014, Sarah became a mother to Aviva or as she is now calling herself, “V”! I became Grandma EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Never in my wildest dreams did I understand the explosion of love and joy that watching Sarah mother Aviva would bring to my life.
Today’s parents do have the Internet and even apps to help them prepare for and cope with the responsibilities of parenthood. But no website or app can teach you how to love your child. That simply comes from within. The flood of love and tenderness that is unleashed with the birth of a baby is beautiful to watch.
Sarah is a SAHM. This was a new term to me. It stands for, Stay at Home Mom. It is a choice and one that was discussed in great detail together with her husband, Sol.
I too chose to be a SAHM. In 1980 smack in the middle of the women’s movement, I chose to resign from my job as Deputy Treasurer of the Carter Re-Election Campaign. David and I chose to leave a very successful life in politics in Washington, DC. and move to Tucson, Arizona where my family lived. I had no idea that in doing so, I had “betrayed” the women’s movement. Women were furious with me. I had successfully achieved a very high-level job in a man’s world – how could I give up my career to stay home with my first born? Apparently, it was a cardinal sin! Who knew???
My definition of the women’s movement can really be summed up in two words; freedom and equality. I want to be free to choose the best course of action for me and I want to have the same human rights as my male counterparts. I never allow myself to be confined by any pre or existing notions of restrictions that society may have placed on women. I unbuckled those shackles as a young girl in college. I decide what is best for me. This is how I chose to live my life.
Sarah had quite the career. She always marched to her own drummer. Not a follower, but more of a trailblazer. While attending a performing arts high school, Sarah decided she wanted to model. As a young girl, she would design clothes. She had a seasonal collection which was tacked proudly on our kitchen walls. This love for fashion along with her love for dance morphed into her desire to model. She was signed by the Ford Agency in Scottsdale and then quite quickly was signed by Elite Modeling in NYC and abroad, leaving a conventional high school setting in her junior year to model in NYC and Europe. Living with family friends of friends of ours, she learned French and traveled Europe all while finishing her junior and senior year in one year!
It seems hard to remember a time when everyone didn’t have access to a portable phone, but twenty years ago, they were few and far between. I insisted that Elite provide me with a cell phone number so that I could check on Sarah when she was on a location shoot outside of Paris. When I called, invariably, she would be found studying between photo shoots. The modeling agency always seemed puzzled by her commitment to her studies.
Sarah moved back to New York to go to NYU. She started working for Saturday Night Live while waiting for the college year to begin. She continued her job at SNL when her classes at NYU began. I marveled at how she balanced work and a full load at school.
After school, she did some work for a very well established PR/Event production company, while also donating her time for NYC charity work. I remember proudly flying into NYC to attend an Operation Smile Event that she chaired at the Whitney Museum.
Then moving back to the southwest, Sarah was instrumental in helping me kick off the PR for my first book. That first book was a family affair.
Push forward, eventually, Sarah decided she wanted to be a licensed endermologist and open her own studio, BodySculpt by Sarah, where she did treatments.Then…………………. she met Dr. Sol Shaftel!
They fell in love and she moved to Seattle where Sol began his two-year fellowship. Apparently my thighs, arms, and cellulite took second fiddle to this love affair. I miss my BodySculpt by Sarah treatments!!!!
Knowing that she was only going to be in Seattle for 2 years, Sarah did not feel it was a good business decision to start a new business, but rather, she did treatments out of their rental home.
Aviva was conceived in Seattle! Contrary to popular belief, not everyone is sleeping in Seattle.
Apparently, blogging is in the genes! During her pregnancy, Sarah created, SmilesCurlsandBaby where she shares tips on pregnancy, recovering from a C-section, healthy eating tips for Mom and baby, the real life of a SAHM (stay at home Mom), and much more all delivered with as she puts it, “No BS”.
I marvel at the no-holds-barred words in her blogs! She delivers every time!
Sarah has always followed her heart looking for the joy and happiness in each day. She loves being a SAHM. She works 24/7 at this wonderful job. As Sarah said in one of her blogs, “We must rise above what we’ve been programmed to be or what society tells us we should care about and just care about happiness.”
I believe that Sarah will pass down these wise words to Aviva and watch her daughter create her very own best life. I look forward to watching the baton being passed from one generation to another and hope that with each generation freedom to follow your own heart endures.
