Applicant #58: Lindsay Maddox

Lindsay Maddox is a mom from Mount Vernon.

My video application:

Find me online:

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A bit about me:

Among my many useless talents, I am fluent in Whinese and can also speak a few conversational phrases in Gruntandpoint. Published author and creator of the popular humor parenting blog Silly Mom Thoughts, I find inspiration and humor for my stories thanks my six-year-old, four-year-old, and a set of two-year-old twins. (No, they´re not identical. Yes, twins run in her family. No, they don´t have the same personality. Yes, I have a favorite… whichever one isn´t throwing a tantrum.)

In my free time (ha!), I stare blankly at the wall. I have also recently discovered an addiction to running that allows me to guiltlessly succumb to my other addiction: Starbucks. I am backed up by my parenting teammate and Superman husband, Clint, who actually does the dishes and laundry more often than I do. (Back off, ladies, he's taken.)

My outlook on parenting is simple: If you can´t laugh in the face of stressful parenting situations, you´ll surely go nuts. I recount stories of my own parenting horrors, always transparent (even when I´d rather not be), and always with a humorous twist. My goal is for other moms join along in laughing our way through motherhood and realize that they aren´t alone in the struggles we all face.

My blog post:

People judge. Let’s face it, we’ve all done it. As a mom to a whole bunch of very small kids, I tend to get judged quite a bit and mostly by strangers. So, instead of taking it to heart, instead of getting offended, instead of kicking the meanie in the shins, I have made a game of it: What’s the funniest response I can give?

Here are a few examples:

“Are these ALL yours?” (Generally asked in a horrified tone and during one of the four kids’ public tantrums.)

“Yep!” I cheerfully respond. “Want one?”

(I still haven’t had any takers.)

People are particularly fascinated by the twins and have all kinds of questions and comments.

“Which one is your favorite?” asked a particularly boorish woman.

“The one that isn’t throwing a tantrum at the time,” I responded.

“I can’t believe you don’t have socks on those poor twins,” a woman scolded me, without knowing the entire story of how my morning went.

“Yanno, I don’t think anyone ever died from lack of sock,” I replied.

Okay, so maybe that last one was funnier to me than her. The point is that parenting is difficult enough without dealing with the judgment of others. Unfortunately, we can’t change the way other people act, but we can change how we respond.

My passion in my writing, in parenting, and in life in general is to laugh at every possible moment. There is something funny in every interaction, every situation, if you only take the time to look for it. Right now, in the midst of financial turmoil that we’re all going through, it is absolutely imperative that we keep our sense of humor.

I hope you’ll join me in laughing your way through motherhood, too!

Lindsay

Comments

[Joel]

Nice video, Lindsay. Funny!