a real life mom @ work A Real Mom@Work: Shelley Breen A New “Gig” Shelley Breen has a successful career in the music industry recording and performing with Point of Grace. But 5 ½ years after her marriage to booking agent David Breen, she landed a new “gig”. And her name is Caroline. Caroline, now 3 years old, had just switched to her “big-girl” bed the day we spoke with Shelley. In these formative years of lasts and firsts, Shelley admits, “I just want to bottle up this age.” Funneling Fears At times parenting can feel daunting. Shelley says of a friend, “She’s afraid of loving something because then it has the power to make or break you.” She went on to explain how her friend is afraid of something happening to her or to her child. “I try not to be anxious. It’s genetic. Me, my mom, my grandmother---we’re worrywarts, fatalists.” Shelley funnels her fears by asking herself what is the worst thing that could happen. “You can’t protect a child like she’s a crystal egg.” Regarding that fear, she responds, “Where do you put that? You have to put it back to your faith.” Just Like Mom? Shelley’s own mom worked most of the time she was growing up and somehow managed to keep the house clean and get dinner on the table every night. Now a working mom herself, Shelley wonders, “How did she do it? When did she ever sleep?” As much as she admires her mom, she has to be careful with comparisons. “Guilt is the biggest force we have to reckon with. And if our kids act out, it makes it worse.” A Small Block of Time Working at home with a preschooler underfoot takes some strategizing. Shelley has a plan. “I take a 30-minute block of time.” Although she may have other things to do, she recognizes when her daughter needs her undivided attention. She recommends, “If we can just keep our eyes on our child for even 10-15 minutes, we can connect with them.” And that’s enough. “After all that connecting time Caroline gets bored with me and she’s happy to go on to do something else.” Girls of Grace “We [Point of Grace] wanted to do an outreach to teen girls. We talk about sexual purity because we saw nothing designed for teens to build them up and equip them. So we get sneaky.” Shelley explains that Point of Grace uses their platform to deal with issues such as family relationships, sex and boys, instilling the same things parents are instilling in their daughters. Shelley encourages the girls, “You can do it. You can walk this road.” The Queen of Quick When it comes to throwing together a quick meal Shelley tells us, “I’m so the queen of let’s see what I have and put it together!” She likes to pick up a rotisserie chicken, take off all the meat, and chop it up. She adds black beans, corn, peppers mixing it all with a bag of salad. And before you can say “ole!” you have a nice, big Mexican salad. For more information about Shelley and Point of Grace or to purchase some great music, click on the links below: www.pointofgrace.net P.S. Moms @ Work loves the CD, I Choose You. > back