In preparation for meeting Lovelyn Palm, I made the fortunate mistake of looking into her – just a bit – beforehand. Be that as it may, when I walked into one of our local coffee shops, I ran into a woman about whom I knew approximately three things. She has nine children, she blogs at http://www.momentswithlove.blogspot.com/, and she is the producer/director of Valpo's Listen to Your Mother, which is coming up May 8th.
The woman behind the counter addressed her by name, something I've been praying to happen to me since I moved here. And, at a glance, Palm could tell that I'd ended up with iced tea instead of coffee. She is a person who embodies positivity, passion, and awareness of our world's problems – and figures out ways she can fix them. From tiny things like homemade art to big things – international adoption and the importance of maintaining a bond with the culture from which the children were adopted, for example – she and her family reach out in faith and with hope.
Over Christmas vacation, she and her husband celebrated their twelfth anniversary in Uganda with their nine children. Of these nine, they adopted their three boys from Uganda and their six girls are biological children. The beautiful brood ranges in age from 18 months to 12 years.
"I think a lot of people, when they see us, they're just like, 'Oh, how do you get through a day?' and think that it's just survival. And I think that large families can thrive and have fun. [Other people] think children get lost in the mix a lot and I really don't feel like that is always true. I think that's my biggest passion: just enjoying my family, having us thrive, and that's my biggest thing. I feel like we can do that when we're doing the most. I don't do a lot, but the things I do, I'm super passionate about," Palm said about her large family.
I'm always amazed by people who don't think they are doing "a lot," when they are so active in their communities. Although she began her career as a pediatric RN, she is now raising her nine children, doing interior design and social media for their company, Crusader Homes, actively participates as a member of Calvary Church, where they have been members for ten years, currently has three additional children in her home through Safe Families, a ministry of Baptist Children's Home, and finds time to produce and direct LTYM.
"It's a live show that was born of blogging. It started as one show in Madison, Wisconsin, and kind of evolved. What happens is writers and bloggers and everyday people audition and tell their story about motherhood. Then we select a cast of twelve to fifteen people and they read their piece live onstage around Mother's Day. I do all of the casting, directing, finding sponsors, and putting together of the show," shared Palm about her role.
Palm has been blogging for about seven years and debuted in Valpo's first LTYM sharing her piece, "Motherless," about her journey into orphan care, finding their children, and loving them all. After a couple years of being part of the cast and being involved with LTYM, Palm's friend who got her involved in bringing it to Valpo moved away, leaving a gap in the directorial position. Although she had no theatre background or directorial or producing experience, Palm had fallen in love with the show. When she gets passionate, it shows.
"It's such a great community: the cast and the audience that comes to the show. It's a celebration of motherhood. People really love this show. They come together – as a tradition – now, with their mothers, sisters, and aunts. People started campaigning for who was going to direct the show and it ended up being me. I really love the show and it's been a success. It's sold out every year we've had it," Palm said with plenty of laughs.
LTYM is, for Palm, and for our community, a gathering to celebrate not only a personal sense of motherhood, but also the complexities of maternal relationships. The stories are sometimes funny, sometimes tear-jerking, but always meaningful. Our community's interest in hearing and recounting these stories is a testament to the bedrock of our community: families.
"It's important for a healthy community to have healthy families and happy families and families that are involved in things in the community. I think it's important just to be a stable and happy family that the community sees to encourage other families. We'll take our big old crew out to the farmer's market and to things like that. Not secluding ourselves and being involved in things and being involved in nonprofits. We'll go serve places together. I think it can be easy for people to be so caught up in their everyday tasks that you don't put those things on the list. I think it's really important that our family is out doing things in the community," said Palm about the connections between home and social life.
In one sense, Palm is a successful blogger who has all but "broken up" with her blog in favor of Instagram's ease. In another, she is a successful trial by fire director/producer. She is also a community activist – both here and abroad. But in the grand scheme of her life, she sees herself as a mother first. The joy her family brings her is evident in all she does. Palm can't help but smile when she speaks of her children, her husband, and their everyday adventures. Each day produces little moments she captures – as a modern mom – on screen and in type.
"When we focus on gratitude, that can really change your attitude. When I'm down, when I'm having a grumpy day, when I'm short with the kids, and when I don't like the way that I'm acting, if I focus on the things that I'm thankful for, it changes my whole mindset," Palm suggests for those who feel down.
And what is she thankful for?
"I'm thankful for my family. I'm thankful that the skies are blue today; they're so blue! That we're seeing signs of spring. I'm thankful for mom friends that I can count on not to judge me and just accept me and give me support that tomorrow will be better. I'm thankful for coffee," her thankfulness bubbled into giggles.
I think we can all learn from Lovelyn Palm. I'm thankful that there are so many great ways to do that!
To learn more about Listen to Your Mother, visit their site at http://listentoyourmothershow.com/nwindiana/2014/03/14/show-information/ and stay tuned to ValpoLife, as we at Ideas in Motion are excited to be proud partners. If you'd like to know a bit more about Lovelyn Palm than I could possibly squeeze into a Life in the Spotlight, visit her blog, http://momentswithlove.blogspot.com/.
Photo credit: Beth Fletcher Photography