“Am I Doing it Right?” An interview with Kristina Merritt
by: Areigna Ralston
“Being a mom, nobody tells you if you’re doing it right.” Kristina Merritt, a loving mother and a dedicated educator shares the struggles balancing her career and homelife. Living with three young boys- Brody, Kade, and Knox- her homelife can get a bit hectic. Sometimes it’s difficult playing the role of a mother and a teacher.
Merritts house is jam packed with energy and excitement almost all hours of the day. Having three boys under the age of ten can be quite exciting, as you can imagine. Running her two older boys, Brody and Kade, to practices almost every night, making them dinner, and just simply spending quality time with her children is extremely important. Especially because Knox is just seven months old. Merritt states, “I want to be a present mom.” In order for her to be the parent she wants to be, she tries to keep her work life put away. However, switching out of teacher mode isn’t always that easy.
Coming home to a houseful of kids after you’ve spent all day with them can be stressful, but Merritt seems to enjoy it. From running Brody and Kade to soccer and football practices, taking care of her baby, making dinner, and doing everything else a regular family does, is exhausting. Having a family is almost like a second job. Giving her best efforts to keep her two worlds separated, she doesn't complain about the annoying high schoolers or her job at home. Merritt also makes sure to keep her school work put away until the boys are asleep. This tends to lead to late nights spent grading papers and tests. On rare occasions, she’ll get some alone time to do things she normally doesn't have time for like watching T.V.. Merritt claims it only happens, “If I’m lucky.” Nonetheless, the small sacrifices are worth the extra time she gets to spend with her boys and her husband, Adam.
Signs that show Merritt she’s ‘doing it right’ are huge confidence boosters. One of these signs happens to be on Christmas. This is her favorite holiday because they always spend it together as a family. Merritt also enjoys this time of the year because she gets to see her kids wonder at the magic of Christmas. “I love seeing their reactions when they see Santa Claus came,” she exclaimed.
One thing Merritt does around the holidays is volunteering. ‘Adopt a Family’ is a volunteering organization Merritt and her family participate in. Adopt a family is a program that helps give presents to families who may not be able to afford Christmas. “I want to teach my kids it’s not all about receiving, but it’s about giving too.” Merritt shared. Along with teaching her children the importance of compassion, she wants her boys to learn other good morals as well. Such as respect, honesty, and integrity. Seeing the way her children act around the holidays show her she must be doing it right. Their willingness to give and be kind to the people around them show Merritt her parenting style is working.
Merritt may not be the ‘perfect’ mother, but she does believe she is putting in her best efforts. A piece of advice she gives to all mothers is to, “Never let the bad days overpower the good days,” and assured she is doing just that. Despite the challenges of being a full time mother and a teacher, Merritt is giving it her all and says she’s, “Finally starting to figure it out.”
by: Areigna Ralston
“Being a mom, nobody tells you if you’re doing it right.” Kristina Merritt, a loving mother and a dedicated educator shares the struggles balancing her career and homelife. Living with three young boys- Brody, Kade, and Knox- her homelife can get a bit hectic. Sometimes it’s difficult playing the role of a mother and a teacher.
Merritts house is jam packed with energy and excitement almost all hours of the day. Having three boys under the age of ten can be quite exciting, as you can imagine. Running her two older boys, Brody and Kade, to practices almost every night, making them dinner, and just simply spending quality time with her children is extremely important. Especially because Knox is just seven months old. Merritt states, “I want to be a present mom.” In order for her to be the parent she wants to be, she tries to keep her work life put away. However, switching out of teacher mode isn’t always that easy.
Coming home to a houseful of kids after you’ve spent all day with them can be stressful, but Merritt seems to enjoy it. From running Brody and Kade to soccer and football practices, taking care of her baby, making dinner, and doing everything else a regular family does, is exhausting. Having a family is almost like a second job. Giving her best efforts to keep her two worlds separated, she doesn't complain about the annoying high schoolers or her job at home. Merritt also makes sure to keep her school work put away until the boys are asleep. This tends to lead to late nights spent grading papers and tests. On rare occasions, she’ll get some alone time to do things she normally doesn't have time for like watching T.V.. Merritt claims it only happens, “If I’m lucky.” Nonetheless, the small sacrifices are worth the extra time she gets to spend with her boys and her husband, Adam.
Signs that show Merritt she’s ‘doing it right’ are huge confidence boosters. One of these signs happens to be on Christmas. This is her favorite holiday because they always spend it together as a family. Merritt also enjoys this time of the year because she gets to see her kids wonder at the magic of Christmas. “I love seeing their reactions when they see Santa Claus came,” she exclaimed.
One thing Merritt does around the holidays is volunteering. ‘Adopt a Family’ is a volunteering organization Merritt and her family participate in. Adopt a family is a program that helps give presents to families who may not be able to afford Christmas. “I want to teach my kids it’s not all about receiving, but it’s about giving too.” Merritt shared. Along with teaching her children the importance of compassion, she wants her boys to learn other good morals as well. Such as respect, honesty, and integrity. Seeing the way her children act around the holidays show her she must be doing it right. Their willingness to give and be kind to the people around them show Merritt her parenting style is working.
Merritt may not be the ‘perfect’ mother, but she does believe she is putting in her best efforts. A piece of advice she gives to all mothers is to, “Never let the bad days overpower the good days,” and assured she is doing just that. Despite the challenges of being a full time mother and a teacher, Merritt is giving it her all and says she’s, “Finally starting to figure it out.”
I think the only major thing dragging your revision down is the formatting. Without indentations, it's really hard to see where paragraphs start and end.
ReplyDeleteI like the sentence content and layout, but there are also a few sentences that just don't read well.
One slightly annoying nitpick is that it's Santa Claus, not clause. A clause is part of a sentence, a Claus gives presents.
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