Clarine Knapp
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Age: 38
Location: 518 W. 12th Ave.
Occupation: Stylist at and owner of Studio C
Family members: Husband, James 45; Taylor Main, 17; Emma Main, 16; Sydney Main, 13; Daniel Knapp, 6; Lucy Knapp, 3
The last time I made my children laugh: When I told them I was going to be the Gazette Mom.
My favorite outdoor activity to do with my child: Taking walks with the younger ones and walking from the car into the mall with the older ones.
The most important life lesson I want my child to learn: Be kind to everyone and understanding of other people’s differences.
My proudest moment as a parent: It’s not the last 3-pointer of the game or the winning touchdown. It’s telling someone that I am the mother of Taylor, Emma, Sydney, Daniel, and Lucy.
The thing about my younger self that I’d like to reclaim: My body. As my friends all know, I am trying to buy it back, one body part at a time.
I get my kids to eat their fruits and vegetables by: Telling them in a gentle voice, “You’ll get scurvy if you don’t eat your fruits and vegetables!”
My favorite book to read to my children: “Love You Forever,” by Robert Munsch.
My favorite kitchen gadget: The microwave. Without it, my children would starve.
If I could change places with anyone, living or dead, it would be: My autistic daughter, Emma. I wonder what life must be like for her. To understand what people are saying, yet not be able to communicate her thoughts and feelings. She has to get people’s attention through tantrums and babble that only she understands. I wonder what it must be like to behave however she wants, no matter how strange it seems to others. She hasn’t a care in the world because she doesn’t know good behavior from bad behavior. I wonder what it would be like to pick your nose in front of someone and eat it, and not care at all what other people think. (Not that I want pick my nose and eat it.)
I hope my kids inherit: My sense of humor and a large sum of money from their long-lost relatives.
I realized I turned into my mother when: I was eight months pregnant and mowing the lawn. I looked down at my swollen feet and they were green because I was wearing flip-flops. They were the only thing that fit my feet at the time. If anyone knew my mother, she was a robust woman who also enjoyed mowing the lawn in flip-flops and sometimes with no shoes on at all. I’ve always had a strong memory of her hands and feet; they were the hands and feet of a woman who worked hard...that just happened to always be green.
My most embarrassing parenting moment: The evening I took 12th Avenue home. Darn those barricades!
The future parenting moment I fear the most: Who will take care of Emma when her parents are gone?
If I had an “I’d rather be...” bumper sticker on my car, it would say: “I’d rather be under anesthesia.”
The biggest challenge I’ve faced as a parent is: Being a part of the population of divorced parents. Already having a large family when I got divorced I married a gentleman who had no children of his own. We then added two more to our family. It was like being a new parent all over again, only this time I was older and a little more exhausted.
The one area in my house (or in my life) that really needs some spring cleaning: To be able to have more time to spend with my children. Unfortunately, we live in a day where it usually requires both parents to work just to provide basic needs (food, home and education). Because we have a larger family, this is very true for us.
To nominate a mother for Meet A Gazette Mom, please contact Ashley Walker at ashley@emporiagazette.com.
busybody (anonymous) says...
Clarine, as only Clarine can be -- her usual upfront - tell like it is - self. Got to love her and how much she cares for her family.
March 14, 2009 at 11:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
eatasheep69 (anonymous) says...
Hilarious! What a cool lady. She must be a blast to be around!
March 15, 2009 at 8:06 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )