a real life mom @ work A Real Mom@Work: Meta Velez by Cindy Laxton In her home city of Petaluma, California, you may find her hauling three boys between music, art lessons and sports. And she often fits in exercise by riding her bike to her church where she volunteers. But most days, she zips between consulting jobs and the offices of two businesses owned by her and her husband in her cute convertible. Meta Velez is definitely a working mom on the move. It all started with the Beatles… Although she is a terrific mom and a successful business woman, one of Meta’s most impressive talents is music. She has sung with three quartets, two trios, participates in choir productions and, most recently, is the only girl in an otherwise all guy band. She has been singing “…since my brother bought me my very first ‘45’ record album when I was seven years old. It was the Beatles’ Hey Jude. I couldn’t help but sing along to it and haven’t stopped since!” “…music was always part of my atmosphere.” Meta’s mom always had music playing in their home and would sing along, whenever she was cooking or cleaning. During her Junior High years, Meta started singing with the church choir and was given her first major solo at age 14. Her only formal training was in college where she took two semesters of private voice instruction from an opera singer in New York. “She made me sing in German and Italian, a real experience. The most valuable thing she taught me, though, is how to breathe. You really can’t sing without proper air supply.” “Yes, God does have quite a sense of humor!” With three boys, ages 13, 11 and 11, (Think diapers!) Meta has experienced the challenges most working moms’ face, like “trying to regain my concentration on some work task after I’ve been interrupted from it for the ump-teenth time to drive somebody somewhere!” Yet Meta says of her boys, “The greatest joy I am finding in them is the promise of so much wonderful possibility for their lives. Since they were born I have always known that each of my boys is destined to make a real difference in this world, to the glory of God.” When it Rains, it Pours On New Year’s Eve, 2005, her town experienced a “100 year” flood event when the Petaluma River completely overran its banks and poured straight into her office building. She and her husband had no clue this was happening until they casually went out for coffee the next morning and found all the roads impassable. Never having experienced something like this, Meta could not have imagined the ever-compounding effects this would have on their lives. She recalls, “Our hearts went out to others in our community who lost the contents of their homes. For us, it was ‘just’ the business records, computers, and furniture, as well as some very precious artwork I had saved from my boy’s preschool days.” Now, over a year later, Meta and her husband, Jose, are still recovering, but in the midst of the worst of it, Meta recalls: “God spoke a peace to my heart through music, particularly in the song, ‘Still’, and I felt compelled to add it to the CD*. In fact, most of the song choices came from hardships that I have personally faced and how they spoke a word of comfort to me, even in the midst of great sorrow.” Meta’s beloved Grandmother passed away during this time, as well. She continues, “The thing I learned most is that all humanity has one completely common denominator, and that is PAIN. All of us experience pain, and no matter what the cause, Jesus is there with us to see us through the storm. He came deliberately to this world to experience the worst of all pains for us, because of His love. This gives Him the very best qualifications to walk beside us and hold us in any circumstance we face.” Best Dinner Tip Meta tells us that “make your own taco night” is always a hit at her house. She says nobody even realizes that she does this when she’s too busy to cook. She prepares ground beef with taco seasonings, gets the kids to chop up all the other ingredients they want and have everybody assemble their own masterpiece. But she says to make sure there’s fresh sour cream in the fridge, because “the tacos just are not the same without it.” ### * Meta‘s debut CD, Soul Oasis, is available at this Website as a gift with a donation to Moms @ Work. > back