Let’s face it, Mother’s Day advertising can be a tad bit condescending. It’s cool if you do want a bottle of Flowerbomb Haute Couture perfume, gardening gloves, and a dozen daises, but haven’t moms evolved past a Helzberg necklace?
Our world is filled with some pretty amazing women, changing the world with their creativity, talents, innovations, bravery, and minds. While yes, they all deserve pretty flowers for their efforts, what is it that these Mom’s on a Mission really want for Mother’s Day?
We had the unique opportunity to sit down and talk with six very different moms and ask them “what they want for Mother’s Day?” as well as advice for moms, parents, and everyone else in this crazy time.
At first glance, these moms seem different, but the one thing they all have in common is they are moms on a mission — women who have a drive and passion to achieve a goal, overcoming the many unique hurdles and pitfalls that have been placed in their way, while at the same time balance work, life and so much more.
It’s not easy, but these amazing women have fought, struggled, fallen, and gotten back up to chase what they believe in while at the same time being role models for their kids.
Here are our 2022 Moms On A Mission
Jane Latman (TV Mom)
You may not know her name, but odds are if you have turned on a TV in the past 25 years you have seen her work. This working mom of a constantly growing teenage boy is the President of HGTV, and prior to leading HGTV, Latmam was responsible for the launch of the True Crime network, Discovery ID, she held tandem roles as general manager, Travel Channel, and executive vice president of development and research for Investigation Discovery and American Heroes Channel.
Her drive and creativity started early learning from her mom on a mission, during her childhood, Jane was introduced to the world of planning and designing houses when her mom, a now-retired architect, took her along to open houses on weekends
Jane’s favorite thing to do with her son?
“Vacation!,” Latman said. “I love having downtime, traveling, and creating adventures with my family. We love going snorkeling and are always looking for new sites to try. Day to day, we enjoy watching Seinfeld, taking walks with our dog (our very needy pandemic puppy), and playing ping pong. Lastly, and more mundane – my son and I have a great time grocery shopping together and always have. We plan meals, look for bargains, compare ingredients. It’s ‘our thing.’ It’s particularly satisfying because that’s something I did with my father when I was a kid.”
What motivated her to keep going in this industry?
“Always learning,” according to Latman. “As long as I’m learning I’m motivated. I’ve never had a period of time where there wasn’t more to do and more to pick up in terms of information, skills, and working with people. The challenges keep coming and that keeps me motivated. Plus, in a creative field you can always do better. You can never reach perfection. That keeps me motivated as well – the quest to keep pushing myself and others creatively.”
What is her tech/innovative gift request?
“I’d say a Ring doorbell camera system,” Latman said. “I think that would be a game-changer, especially to see what our pandemic pup is doing while we are out (now that we are going out again)!”
Kayla Blood (Monster Truck Mom)
That’s right, this mom of two, is also the driver of the Monster Jam- Monster Truck, Soldier Fortune. Sure there are some pretty slick cars at school pick up, but none quite as cool as Kalya’s Monster Truck. Soldier Fortune is 10.5 feet tall, 12.5 feet wide, 17 feet long and weighs 12,000 pounds with an engine that generates 1,500 horsepower!
How does a mom get to be a dominating force in a traditionally male-dominant industry?
“I tell myself to always work harder than I think I can,” Blood said. “When I get out there I know some people are thinking ‘girl driver,’ and they lower their expectations. I show them ‘driver,’ full speed and as aggressive as any of the other drivers.”
With a background as a world-class hurdler in track, serving in the military, racing ATV’s, fighting on the MMA circuit, never missing a chance to take on a new challenge and evolve is what motivates Kalya.
“I like to show women and girls that they can do anything,” she said. “When I’m in my truck I am making as much noise for all of them that I can. Be different, be who you want to be. I am a mom driving a monster truck and I am proud of who I am and how I got here.”
The Monster Jam touring schedule is hectic for all of the drivers. Gone on Thursday, back on Monday and crashing into buses while flying several stories through the air, it’s mentally and physically demanding, but the work doesn’t stop when Kaya gets home,
“ I’m pretty sure the Monster Jam dads don’t come home and clean and do the dishes.”
Kayla Blood
Despite working with some of the top technology in the automotive industry, what does this Monster Jam Mom want for Mother’s Day?
“I’m very sentimental, a drawing or a letter from my kids,” she said. But when we pushed a little more, Kayla said she is hoping for some Apple AirPods to use as she gets pumped up for her next performance.
Megan Bozek (Gold Medal Dog Mom)
Yes, our furry friends need love and attention, too. Megan and her husband Andrew who are still newlyweds and balancing a crazy schedule are the proud parents of a new pup.
Megan got her start in hockey at the age of two and a half and has been blazing trails for women and girls on and off the ice ever since.
A two-time Olympian, as a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team, Megan earned a spot on seven International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship teams. competed as a member of Team USA in seven Four Nations Cups and continues to compete at a world-class level.
Megan’s advice for working women in this crazy time:
“Even when the world is throwing curveballs, women are strong and always striving to make things around them better. Women are powerful.”
Just because she doesn’t have any kids….yet, doesn’t mean that Megan doesn’t take on the responsibility of being a positive role model for girls around the world.
What motivates Megan?
“My ‘why’ is when I am on the ice and I look out at the little girls watching me, wanting to know how we got here,” Bozek said. “Watching them watch us is an indescribable feeling. Hopefully, we’re paving the way for these young girls to know they have a future in the sport.”
What does this world-class dog mom want for Mother’s Day?
“Between my husband and I, we are always on the move with sports, events etc.,” according to Bozek. “To be able to come home and relax in a massage chair would be the best!”
Janet Higdon (Chief Creative Mom)
Been to a Target lately? Heard of Star Wars toys? Then you’ve seen Janet’s work. A seasoned advertising executive, Janet has been at the helm of some of the most iconic ads of our time.
She is also a mom to two boys and describes herself as a creative director, writer, and lover of making things. Janet is also a newly indoctrinated “baseball mom,” meaning her free time is now spent driving her kids to games and cheering them on.
Professionally Janet is the Chief Creative Officer for the cutting edge, interactive at-home fitness system Forme. Forme is taking the home gym world by storm, which is great for business, but also adds layers of stress and work for Janet.
Her advice for mom’s and Mother’s Day?
“I was at a grocery store several years ago on Mother’s Day and heard the cashier wish the woman in front of me a happy Mother’s Day,” Higdon said. “She responded, ‘I’m not a mom.’ The cashier said ‘everybody is mothering somebody.’ That stuck with me. After all being a mom is wanting to show up and take really good care of someone else and be your best self. As a working mom, I would say try to make sure there’s someone looking out for you, mothering you and making sure you’re making time to let that happen. It’s about allowing other people to help you, acknowledging that you can’t do it all is super important and letting someone in to help or listen is super important.”
The challenges Janet enjoys about her job are also very similar to the challenges that most parents face on their journey with their kids.
“As a creative person like I love making things that’s what makes me happy and making something from the ground up, making things on an entirely different level that to me has brought me so much more fulfillment than I ever expected,” she said. Every piece of the business is essentially we’re inventing it and we’re creating it to help people and all of that to me kind of caught me off guard and in the best possible way.
What does Janet like to do with her kids, other than baseball?
We love to travel with our kids, we try to just explore and do new things I would say I just you know we pick a spot in the map everybody gets a say,” she said. “The boys are getting older and everybody gets a vote in the itinerary which I think is actually kind of fun. We just went to Santa Barbara that was kind of the balance of our itinerary was wine tasting and the batting cages.”
Janet’s Mother’s Day gift wish:
“I want a human to manage all of my tech OK right and maybe my kids eventually will be those people. I need something to help me connect all of my tech dots. I feel like I’ve got all these data points and I don’t really feel like I need to start connecting them all and translating that into some kind of plan of action, help me with my sleep, my fitness, my daily routine.”
Miriam Gimal (Advocate Mom)
If you are feeling down, or need an explosion of positive energy, then check out Miriam on her social media or podcast. Her journey to becoming an advocate for individuals with Autism as well as PTSD and Anxiety issues is uncommon, brave and the kind of thing that movies are made of.
A native of Panama and mom to twin girls, when one of her daughters was diagnosed with severe autism and doctors had run out of ways to try and help, it set Miriam on a quest to help her daughter and changed the world.
What seems like a long shot, Miriam ended up in the offices of Wave Neuro a company in California utilizing a groundbreaking technology called MeRT which stands for Magnetic Resonance Therapy, a highly customized use of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. It is a non-invasive, painless, and drug-free option for the treatment of a wide range of neurological conditions.
MeRT protocols start with a quantitative EEG or qEEG. The qEEG allows us to see patterns of dysfunction that identify varying disorders of the brain, such as learning and behavioral issues, emotional disorders, brain injury, and others. The qEEG done on each patient provides patients with a map that guides each individually tailored treatment.
What started as a leap of faith proved to be a life-changer for Miriam, her daughter, and thousands of people around the world.
“I’ve been through hell and back and I feel so much power in this message I have for other parents going through the same thing,” said Gimal. “Your life isn’t over. What do we think about tomorrow we don’t think about it right now, it’s about that catastrophe in the future, what’s gonna happen when I’m not here will he talk will she get married, and all these things that caused so much uncertainty is what we feel like our life is going to be based on fears.”
“I’m devoting my life to getting people right back here come back here come to me what can we do now. How do we move on? You’re gonna think about the future it doesn’t matter you cannot control it. You can come back to the present and figure things out, what technologies exist, what new options do I have, what can I do today.”
A life coach, an advocate a Wave Neuro business owner, and a spokesperson, Miriam understands the power of positive thinking and also the way technology can completely change the path you are traveling along.
“About a week into treatment, my daughter comes up to me which by the way I was a nobody in her life and she asks me to hold her to carry her which was unusual,” she said. “As I am holding her she grabs me by the shoulders looks at me and gasps then she hugs me and does it over and over hugging and kissing me for about 15 minutes. My aunt who is watching asked me, Miriam is your daughter recognizing you for the first time and I said she just met me and I’m looking at her I’m telling her nice to meet you I’m your mother.”
Miriam admits she has countless blessings in her life, but if there was one thing, she would ask for on her Mother’s Day list, it would be Sonal, a personalized brain care device that uses cutting-edge, non-invasive technology that reshapes your brainwaves to effectively improve your brain health for general well-being.
Nicole Knepper (Author Mom)
Oddly enough her book, Moms Who Drink and Swear, is one of our top recommended books for moms who need a funny, healthy, smart look at parenting.
Knepper is a clinical therapist who started a blog, that had a global following which turned into a best-selling book. The book and her blog is packed with great stories and amazing lessons in a creative and unconventional manner.
Any bad thought you’ve had about your kids, Knepper has had worse. It’s not that she doesn’t love her kids. It’s that she understands what a mind-f*?% it can be to try to civilize those wild little beasts.
As Knepper rants and raves about caring for children (without crushing their souls), family togetherness (without too many tears), the saving grace of girlfriends (and vodka), and love and marriage (and all the baggage that goes with them), she gets to the heart of what every exasperated mom is thinking, just much funnier.
Nicole’s relationship advice (from her book):
“I personally don’t do the whole my husband is my best friend thing. He’s my husband and my world,” Knepper said. “Husbands are not besties, they’re honeys, and that’s a big diff. I consider my husband as a backup friend if I really need a plus one and my girlfriends are otherwise engaged. Don’t get me wrong, I love him and like to sex him up and spend his money and stare mindlessly at the television next to him under a blanket eating chips. When I want to get talking in deep, I need my girls.”
What does one of the most popular moms in the world want for her special day? “I pick Athletic Greens. I like healthy shit.”
Finally, each mom we spoke to had the same exact advice:
Take time to take care of yourself, workout, read a book, take a walk, or go out with friends. Momming in the new world isn’t easy, it’s okay to put yourself first once in a while.
