About me and my family……..
Welcome to personaLea speaking! I’m so glad you dropped by. Grab a coffee or cocktail (if you have teens, I suspect you need a few of both!), take a look around the site and please let me know what you think. Your feedback is crucial to the success of this site and I’m so interested to know about you!
I’ve created this site and blog to fulfill a dream I’ve had of writing and sharing with others. I have a deep respect for the written word and the powerful ability it possesses to story tell, create mental images and convey emotions. My hope is that some of my stories with resonate with you; that some of you will share your stories with me and that we can all have a good laugh often.
The driving force behind my topics of teens and family comes from my own experience – as a mom who worked full time, my plate was full with career, marriage, kids and all the other stuff life throws at us. Trying to juggle it all without dropping any balls (impossible!), losing my marbles (also impossible) and actually slowing down to enjoy it (this type A girl has a really hard time with that one!) was stressing me out to the point that my health and relationships were suffering big time. I knew I had to make some major changes in both my own habits and the habits of our family or these precious years were going to pass me by without me savoring them or being truly present in each moment – be those moments good or bad. I kept asking myself “how can I stay connected to my kids during these years of rapid change and ensure that they are getting as much support, love and attention from me as possible?” “How can I continue to lay the foundation of family values so when they go out into the world they will be good friends and spouses and respectfully approach each situation they encounter with compassion and integrity?” I created a family culture definition for us that embodies what our unique priorities are and that has become my guide to tackling these teen years.
So really, I’m just an average mom of two teenagers (a 13 year old daughter and a 15 year old son) who is trying to make the most of these teen years by intentionally creating moments for us to spend together. Without driving one another nuts, that is! So many changes and stages! Moodiness, raging hormones, social lives, school, tough decisions……..need I go on? How do we accomplish keeping a close family bond and keeping those lines of communications open with such big challenges in our way? I think it’s possible to succeed at this – I’m determined to figure it out, with some stumbles along the way. It definitely takes a village and a good sense of humor. Hoping you’ll join me as I share what has worked (and what hasn’t worked) for us. No preaching or judgement here – just honestly keepin’ it real!
My site name is quite personal to me (pardon the pun!). My middle name is Lea but pronounced “lee”, hence the persona”Lea” speaking.
Our family lives in Louisville, Kentucky and includes three of the cutest dogs ever. The six of them make my world go round.
Thanks for allowing me to be part of your day,
Jennifer Lea
www.personaleaspeaking.com
Contact me at jenniferlea@personaleaspeaking.com