MEET LAUREN CHANE
After meeting her husband Jason in Texas, they relocated to St. Augustine to share their gift of helping others with addiction and recovery with the opening of The Augustine – a drug and alcohol treatment center. Read about what Lauren loves as a mom, how she balances a full time career to find time for herself and her family, as well as what she loves about being a “Fit Mama!” And stay tuned – later this week she will share her story on the blog of her own recovery and how she and Jason started The Augustine.
1) What is your favorite part about being a mom
The moments when I’m lying in bed in the morning with Jason and River and we are all laughing and playing. In that moment I’ve never been happier or more grateful for getting to be a family. I look at my husband and at River and I think “we made her from a few tiny cells, and now look at her!” I also love when she is scared or we are somewhere new, she comes to me to regulate her emotions, and I get to slow down and hold her until she feels safe again and helping my little human find her way in the world is the best job in the universe.
2) What is your favorite mom “hack”
Hmm, I wish I had some of these. I might say co-sleeping just because I didn’t have to get up to feed my little and could go right back to sleep but I know that is controversial for some. We always use a co-sleeper. We have a Doc-a-Tot now that she loves. Maybe the other hack is The Alligator Farm, we don’t have a fully functional children’s museum yet in St. Aug, and this is an awesome, kid friendly, enclosed space to run around and play, plus its fun for parents too, I have a annual pass and go all the time when I know she needs to burn some energy and get out of the house.
3) What do you and your family like to do in your free time?
We love being outside so we go for runs with the baby on the weekends, go to the beach, the alligator farm to let her run around. We have epic snuggle/tickle fests each morning and like to hide under the covers as long as we can. River loves to play in the pool and chase the dogs around, so most days it may not seem like we do much, but we have a ball.
4) How do you juggle your full time work/life balance?
I don’t do this as well as some others I think. We don’t have family here and our nanny works only the hours we work, so there is no off-time. I usually take time during work hours to do self-care or necessary errands. It’s a perk of owning your own business I guess. We have finally gotten a babysitter we like who works every-other Friday night so we can have a date night. We are right around the corner from pre-school though so I see a light at the end of the tunnel so to speak.
5) How did your journey to become a Masters Level Social Worker begin?
I was an English Major, but unhappily so in undergraduate school. I was on a study abroad for British Literature, sitting on a bus headed to a field trip to Stonehenge and sat next to a very chatty social worker. She taught at The University of Miami and had a private practice as well and was talking about her life and work and the thought crossed my mind, “I want your job.” I told her that and she said, “You’d make an excellent Social Worker.” I changed my major as soon as I got home and on my first day of intro to Social Work I felt like I’d come home. I never knew my knack for talking and connecting to others could lead me to a career. I love what I do.
6) What do you love about being a part of the Fit Mamas tribe?
The laughter! It is so nice to be in a group of people who understand what its like to not sleep through the night for 17 months! I love hearing the stories about everyone’s kiddos and how they are changing and growing. I love the feeling of connection and also I love a good workout! It is a wonderful community and I doubt I’d feel nearly as sane without them.
THANK YOU, LAUREN!
