Motherhood: A Balancing Act

Tips from WJXT-4 Anchors
​Jennifer Waugh, Mary Baer, and Joy Purdy

by Jennifer Yarbrough
with Photos by Mindy Kerry of Nature's Child Photography

​Motherhood is a million things.  It is joy and worry, making lunches and burning dinners.  It is laundry, laundry, and more laundry.  It is hugs and kisses, laughter and tears.  It is the most love your heart has ever felt and the most fear, too.  It is trying to be there for your child all the time in every situation with just what they need.  Meanwhile, there’s work, church, volunteering, community service projects and other obligations.  It’s no wonder that moms can sometimes feel like trapeze artists. On a unicycle.  Juggling plates. Above alligators.  A little dramatic?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Is it possible to balance work, life, and motherhood?  How do moms do it?  To answer these questions and to learn how to keep all of my own “plates in the air,” I headed to WJXT-4 studios to talk with three News Anchor Moms to learn their secrets to success.

Jennifer

​“You can do anything you set your heart out to do.  You should never give up.” 

​Jennifer Waugh who anchors the The Morning Show on WJXT Channel 4, helps get your day started right. She is a hardworking mom to a 9-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son and says her most important job on this earth is keeping her children safe and raising them to be full of compassion, kindness, and generosity. Her advice is to lead by example and remember that children are always watching the way we interact with others.  She believes children should learn about giving back to the community at a young age, her children do hands-on volunteering at a local non-profit with their Grandma.
Her own parents, “Grandma and Grandpa,” and her sister play an active role in her children’s lives.  This support allows her to have a career and be a good role model, especially for her daughter, who Jennifer wants to understand that she can have a career and a family.  Jennifer learned this firsthand from her own mother who was a full-time Nurse. She describes her mom as generous, giving, and a great listener.  She says the take away from her own mother is that you have to “be all in” as a parent.  To always remember that while you might sacrifice a lot of your own free time as a parent, your children are only young for a short time. 
So how does she make that time count?  Organization is the key.  She is a big proponent of ‘lists’ and loves the feeling of accomplishment when she can check items off of her lists.  Her favorite Christmas present was the Amazon Echo and the Alexa Voice Service.  Now when she thinks of something to add to the list, or something that she needs to do, she just calls out, “Alexa” and Alexa helps her in her list-making endeavors.  Being on The Morning Show means early mornings for her and being prepared is the key!  Having clothes for the children—and herself laid out the night before, down to the shoes and socks, having the lunches made and everything packed helps reduce stress so you are not rushing at the last minute. 
When Jennifer does have free time she likes to relax by exercising.  She runs.  Everywhere. She runs on the treadmill at the station, over the bridges in downtown Jacksonville, or with her family.  She describes herself as a “jock,” who loves all sports.  She coaches her daughter’s basketball team and can be seen shooting hoops or playing tennis with her kids when she’s not at work.  Sports are her outlet and a great bonding time with her family. 
    

Mary

"With faith, family, friends, and fitness, you can find your balance."  

​    When we met, Mary had just come from her small farm tending to her six Equine animals, including a donkey named Jackson, a Miniature horse named CocoaPuff, and four large horses.  Her eyes lit up as she talked about her “darling” husband of eight years, Marty, and her role of “Ga Ga” to one of the most important men in her life, her Grandson.  Mary Baer’s enthusiasm for life is contagious!  Her gratitude for her journey, her job, and her family is obvious.  Her career is very important to her and she admits that finding balance has always been challenging, but with faith, family, friends, and fitness she is able to maintain it all.
    Faith is very important to this mom, now grandma.  Prayer every morning sets the tone for her day.  The time she spends praying starts her day on a positive note and prepares her for what is to come.  Faith and prayer are things she learned from her own mother.  As she talks about her mother, one can see just how special family is to her.  She talks with love about a mom that can laugh about anything and finds joy in everything.  Mary recently went on a road trip with her mother, who is 94, her best friend, also named Mary, and her young grandson. Her grandson is the absolute light of her life as is her daughter.  She beams with pride as she describes her daughter’s career as a hairstylist at Zimmiz, the place where her daughter received her first haircut as a little girl.  
It was the inspiration and support of her parents that led her to college, her mom’s encouragement that brought her to broadcast journalism, and the love of her family now that motivate her.  Her friends offer great support to her, as well.  When she needs help around the farm and may be busy at work, they are there to help out.  Fitness is her outlet.  She takes Pilates and runs on the treadmill at the Station.  This helps her clear her head and focus. She also loves to spend time with friends, including Joy Purdy who often hops on the next treadmill and chats.

Joy

"It is easy to tell other people to have faith, but when you are the mom and the “fixer,” you worry and you have to remind yourself to stop and ask God for help."

​    The third mom I interviewed comes live into your home every evening.  Joy Purdy has two daughters, a 4-year-old and a 7-year-old. Joy faces a challenge that many parents face—she works the night shift.  While she is not with her children at night, she is available during the day to volunteer at her daughter’s schools, read to their classes and have lunch with them.  She looks forward to these special times with them.  Her husband, her step-daughter, and babysitter all help with the girls, too.  They have routines in place that make things easier.  A dry erase board calendar where she and her husband write activities allows them to stay on track.  Her older step-daughter is a great help with the girls in the evening, helping with homework and sorting papers to be signed and returned.  Constant communication between parents and caregivers is a must.  Her advice on finding balance is to accept help.  Things might not be done exactly like you would have done it, but that is okay.  Another tool that Joy uses to keep in contact with her children when she’s at work is FaceTime.  She will call and ask her girls about their day and read Bible stories with them.  Faith is important to her and her family.  In fact, she credits prayer times with God throughout the day to keeping her balanced and calm.  Motherhood has taught her about faith in action.  She says it was easy to tell other people to have faith, but when you are the mom and the “fixer,” you worry and you have to remind yourself to stop and ask God for help.

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     Jennifer, Mary, and Joy taught me that the journey of motherhood is different for every mother and her children, but there are common threads that help keep things balanced—faith, family/friends, organization, and an outlet. Faith is personal and unique to each one of us, but helps us to find peace and purpose in our role as mother. Family and friends are there to support us and love us, so we shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help—and take it. It truly does take a village. Finding a system of organization that works for you and your family is extremely important to helping your household run smoothly and reducing stress. Moms also need an outlet that makes them feel happy and healthy, whether it is fitness, crafting, reading, choose something that helps you recharge and relax. Balance looks different for each of us, but it is possible. Take a deep breath, look at your children, and know that motherhood is a million wonderful things. Now, hop on that unicycle, and get to balancing those plates, you can do it, Mama!