Meet the Mom – Lani

Name: Lani Goodrich

Where did you grow up: I was born in West Palm Beach but I grew up all over: Michigan, California, New York, but I came back here for High School at Cardinal Newman and then went to FSU.

Town you live in now: WPB

Why you love living there:
We really have it all in WPB, we have a little city, we have the ocean, we have natural areas. I live in a great neighborhood with a ton of kids and other families. The city has been so supportive of my artistic ventures, the WPB art scene is so hot right now!

Tell me about your kids: My kids are insane and hilarious and very loving. We have three girls, Ella 10, Wren 9, Annie 6. They have grown up surrounded by all kinds of people from my workshops and pop ups and social scenes so they are very outgoing and comfortable in social situations, I really like that about them. They also fight like cats and dogs, but you can’t have it all!

Favorite things to do with the kids locally: I am the Secretary of the Board of The Friends of the Mandel Library downtown, so we spend a lot of time there. They have a ton of family friendly kids activities and of course…the books:) We also love nature centers like Gumbo Limbo and Loggerhead. And of course, the water, my kids are basically fish without gills. They love the ocean.

What’s your ‘day job’? How did you get started with it? I am a potter. Four years ago I started Avenue Pottery from a small studio in my backyard and now I make plates and dishes for people and restaurants around town. I also host workshops and pop ups. I used to be an art and a science teacher and I salvaged an old kiln that was being thrown out at my school. It sat in storage for 8 years until my husband decided I needed a studio. I had been in the trenches with three small kids under the age five and I just needed something else from life. He built me a studio, I learned how to fire the kiln and then my dad bought me a wheel for my birthday and I used YouTube videos to learn how to throw pots. The rest is history!

What is your best parenting advise. Lay it on us. Just survive. HAHAHA. I try to listen to my gut. I think every situation requires a different tactic and response. Sometimes when kids are misbehaving, they need discipline and other times they need a hug. I think as a parent you have to know your kids personality and what works for them, and I can say with my own three kids, they all have very different emotional needs. Life is hectic and sometimes you have to say “no” to birthday parties and sports practice and play dates, and just cozy up in your own house with them. That’s hard to do, but its important to unplug from life sometimes.

What do you do for self care? All my life I wanted to be a mom, and then when I was home for 6 years changing diapers and becoming best friends with the check out lady at Publix, I had to say to myself, “ok, at this point, you need something more”. I am glad I was there for my kids during those years, but I felt like I was losing part of myself. I think my husband recognized that, and that is why he built me a studio. I used to feel guilty admitting that, but I think the biggest emotion we feel as mothers is GUILT: guilt if we work, guilt if we don’t work, guilt if we yell, guilt if we give in, so much so that it makes us very judgmental of other mothers, who basically just need our support. We are all doing it differently, but we are all in it together.

Anything else you want to share? Sometimes you have to learn to survive before you start to thrive, keep at it moms of the world!