A Year of Firsts

2019: I had never been more scared and excited to enter a new year.

Our little girl was due within the first few weeks of January. During my 39-week check-up (a Friday), during the non-stress stress test, the doctor said, “Well, we’re going to bring you in on Monday to get started…”

I literally panic-texted my husband who was at work at the time and we were so confused; my pregnancy had been high-risk due to the baby developing with only a two-vessel cord (typically there are three), so they wanted to monitor every little thing (not mad about it). But, the casual plan to just come into the hospital Monday afternoon at 4pm (!) seemed so surreal! With this bambina being our first child, we had no idea what was happening anyway, so we continued to take each doctor’s visit, sonogram, and experience in stride.

So, I left the doctor that Friday afternoon, went back to work and then met my family that night for a Syracuse Crunch hockey game, casually telling my colleagues, family, and friends that we would meet our child next week. We anxiously filled our weekend with aimless errands and lounging; spent our last date night just the “two” of us at our favorite restaurant (Pastabilities), and Monday morning we both went into work.

Our lives would never been the same! Frances Evelyn – our sweet Frankie Girl – was born on a Wednesday in the wee hours of the morning, and we were able to bring her home that weekend just before a snowstorm hit. I spent the next 14 weeks on maternity leave, navigating this new 24/7 schedule of mom-ing, my new full-time job. It was during that time, for the first time in my life, that I felt different from my male colleagues. Originally it made me really, really annoyed that I was “different” – my male counterparts didn’t have to put their career trajectory on hold even if their partner had a kid; they didn’t have to heal both mentally AND physically for who knows how long; they could continue on their merry way professionally, while me, someone that has worked just as hard (if not harder!) than some of my teammates throughout the years, had to navigate ALL the things professionally and personally.

Ever since I can remember, I’ve had a job: making Blizzard’s at Dairy Queen, bussing tables at Vallozzi’s, working retail at Express, swiping ID cards at the rec center on campus, then a series of unpaid internships with the Pittsburgh Pirates, SU Athletic Communications Department, the Daytona Cubs (paid…if you wanted to clean the ballpark…which I only did once because I was scared after being on bathroom duty after Thirsty Thursday…), and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Even in 2008 during the recession I landed a paid internship at an advertising agency in Pittsburgh before I started my post-graduate career in college athletics.

For more than half of my life, I identified myself by my career. Whether it was the fun promotional days like Mustache March, Elvis Night, or creating traditions like the Tipoff Tailgate, I spent a majority of my time invested in day job, and gosh darnit, I LOVED IT. As much as I complain about working 13 basketball games in five days during March Madness (truly it’s the script writing that I didn’t like), I’ve gotten to work nationally televised events with some incredible people.

Little did I know that meeting my husband and starting our family would truly trump everything else I’ve ever done. I repeat... it has trumped EVERY OTHER THING I'VE EVER DONE. And what was once an annoyance - resentment, almost - towards men that didn’t have to go through what I did to have both a family and career instantly disappeared…because they didn’t get to create a human life or nurse her to sleep, AND high-five a student after they landed their dream job. Another first for me: I stopped comparing myself to others personally AND professionally. I learned my career trajectory wasn’t on hold, it just was taking a new turn while I bring a tiny human into the fold. My tiny, sweet, hilarious, joyful, human. Life became much clearer to me on what is most important in life. For example:

Hearing my little girl giggle for the first time > setting attendance records

Taking my family to the beach > causing an arena to “jump around”

Watching her clap for herself after walking for the first time > nailing the pre-game timing before tip off

2019 has been a year of firsts: all of the firsts for our sweet Frankie and our family, and a first for me as a career woman to learn that being “mom” has already been a more rewarding career than I could have ever imagined. I can't believe the end of this year means my baby is almost one, but I can say with confidence that she has brought so much happiness throughout these life adjustments, and I couldn't have written a better ending to this decade if I tried. Here's to a new year and new decade of continued growth, both personally and professionally.