Awesome Moms of Madison: Rebecca Guntharp
We could all use a cheerleader in our lives, and Rebecca Guntharp is among the best! This mom of two embodies the idea of “it takes a village” – she’s even built one right here in the Rocket City! Whether she’s coaching a newly postpartum mom & helping her feel at home in her body again, or giving moms at all stages a much needed night out, she’s got a heart for her village. Read below to learn more about what makes Rebecca an Awesome Mom.
Rebecca’s Passion
My passion is supporting Moms! I am the owner of FIT4MOM Rocket City, and so I get the amazing job of building a community that supports women in motherhood, connecting moms, and helping them with their mental and physical wellness. Raising children creates a special bond between people. You celebrate the highs and the lows together. So being able to bring people together is for sure the thing that fuels me.
Her Motherhood Journey (So far!)
I am a mom of two girls 6 & 3 and it’s been an eventful couple of years as a mom. Me & my hubby met while he was working in London and we lived there until 2016. When I was 6 months pregnant we moved from London to Northern Virginia and started the next chapter in our lives.
The first couple months of motherhood were really hard. I was a first-time mom and so that was overwhelming but at that time I also lost my Dad to cancer, was still settling into my new home/country, and I really felt the absence of my career and support network back in England.
Luckily I found FIT4MOM and the community there helped me meet new people, get parenting tips from veteran moms, and gave me a great reason to explore new areas in town and get out of the house. Slowly I settled into motherhood and my new surroundings and started to build my Mom Village. Then after about 18 months of living in NoVA, we decided to move closer to my husband’s family and found ourselves moving South to Madison, AL. I was pretty terrified because I’d never visited the area and honestly felt like I was hitting reset. So you’ll imagine my elation at finding out there was a FIT4MOM here. Wahoo.
A year or so after living here I found out I was pregnant with our 2nd and in 2019 we became a family of four. I feel like my mom-journey since then has honestly been one that is filled with ever-conflicting pulls from every direction. I always envisioned myself being a SAHM, so as a small business owner and mom who works from home, I’ve had to really adjust my own expectations of what our family dynamic and a typical “day in the life” looks like. I am a perfectionist and I want to excel at everything and so with that I’ll head into the next question….
Her Quest for Balance
This is the hardest part of my mom-journey by far! As parents, we juggle a lot of spinning plates and it always feels like one (or let’s be real ALL!) are going to fall and potentially smash. I once heard (someone far wiser than me) say you will always have lots to juggle, so think of all your to-do items as bouncy balls and glass baubles….you have to decide which ones if dropped can bounce vs which will break. This gave me the push I needed to really prioritize what’s important to me. I also have to stay very organized to keep the anxiety of all the aforementioned at bay so I am also a huge fan of to-do lists. I love the online app Trello and use it to organize my brain. I’d be lost without it! So as far as practical tips:
- Take time to categorize your bouncy balls and baubles.
- Checkout Trello.
- Make a list of your 3 most important things to do each day. These are your non-negotiable “bauble items”. Focus on getting them done, and then you know everything else can bounce.
- Turn off the notifications on your phone and digital detox when you can.
Her Ideal Rocket City Weekend
A perfect weekend would probably consist of meeting friends at Stovehouse and letting our kids play in the grassy area while we enjoy some cocktails and yummy food…food is my love language. Or enjoying a hike around Rainbow mountain with our black lab.
Funniest Parenting Moment
I think it will be rolling into our MMO car line one day and hearing as my daughter got out of the car her telling her teacher that “Mommy locks me in my room like a princess in a tower”. Before I could add context to her statement (that we’d installed baby-proofing measures/stair gates to keep our kids safe from our steep staircase). I was being waved out of the carline. At pickup, I got there early and gave the full story. Her teacher just laughed and said don’t worry we hear the FUNNIEST things all the time and chuckled. I’m not sure that made me feel better…because then I was then left wondering what else my kid had told her lol.
Rebecca’s Top Parenting Tips
Find your Village. Find a community where you feel like you belong and can share parenting’s highs and lows and feel like you’re not alone in this crazy journey.
The Super Power She Wishes She Had
I’d love to be able to time travel. I often feel like I never have enough time, or I feel guilty that I’ve missed out on a special moment because I was distracted so the thought of having a fail-safe with time travel is very appealing.
Rebecca’s Parenting Book Recommendation
I recently read Brene Brown’s Daring Greatly and in it she has some chapters dedicated to parenting. I felt like it had some great research on the emotions around parenting and relationships and I keep telling every mom I know to read it.
Her Playlist
Name the song you think of when you need to:
Get your Gameface on: “Champion” by Carrie Underwood
Energize yourself: Anything Ed Sheeran
Let loose and have fun with your friends: Anything from the 90’s/00’s era!
You Might Also Like…
- Meet More Awesome Moms of Huntsville
- Tales from the Parenting Trenches
- Find Family Fun in Huntsville
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