Hi, my name is Ashley, and I’m probably writing this from a parking lot.
Maybe outside work. Maybe in the grocery store parking lot while I finish up today’s list. Maybe at any given baseball or softball field somewhere in Fairfield County. Maybe texting my husband to see how the morning went after getting our three kids out the door and onto the bus.
You can guarantee I’ve got a half-melted iced coffee, my emotional support water bottle, and some form of half-eaten protein bar next to me.
Our house currently consists of one middle schooler, two younger sisters, and approximately 700 water bottles. My trunk currently consists of two folding chairs, one picnic blanket, two pairs of cleats, three bats, and numerous crumpled school papers. And a partridge in a pear tree. We also recently added a puppy to the mix, because apparently, life felt a little too manageable.
We moved to Connecticut over a decade ago with one baby and no idea how quickly life would fill with sports schedules, school calendars, and color-coded chaos.
I spend my mornings in a gym full of people cheering each other on, and my afternoons driving between practices, wondering why no one warned us how much of motherhood would be spent in the car.
Somewhere along the way, these in-between moments started to become real life. Some of my best thinking happens in parking lots. Some of the friendships I value most began as quick conversations after workouts or school drop-offs.
This season of motherhood may not look particularly glamorous, but honestly, neither do I most days. This life is loud, busy, meaningful, exhausting, funny, and held together largely by iced coffee, group texts, and a good true crime podcast.
So while I can’t promise I have parenting all figured out, I can promise honesty, humor, and stories from this beautifully chaotic stage of life here in Fairfield County. And if you happen to spot me writing from a parking lot somewhere, there’s a good chance my iced coffee is melting, and my Google Calendar is open. Say hi!
