6:15 am – My phone alarm is going off, but my brain isn’t ready for the day yet. It’s somewhere in Nova Scotia dreaming about dinner with a friend and walking a very large sheepdog? Snooze button.

6:38 am – I finally give in and start moving, slowly. I tiptoe past my youngest son’s room and head to the kitchen in search of coffee. My husband scares me as he comes around the corner and we try to laugh quietly so as not to wake our two little boys. He heads out into the 19-degree weather to start his day.

7: 15 am – The caffeine has finally penetrated my blood stream and the boys are waking up. I contemplate not taking a shower but decide to anyway and find clothes for me and my two hooligans.

8:15 am – My two boys and I are finally leaving the house, 15 minutes behind schedule. One is crying because he wanted his oatmeal in a Star Wars tumbler, not the white bowl I offered him, and the other things I’m a criminal because I’m insisting that he go to school even though his allergies are acting up. Mom of the year, right here. But, by some miracle we are finally in the car!

8:35 am – Drop off Hooligan 1 at school. He’s late, so I have to sign him in. I can’t find a face mask, so I hold my coat over my nose and wave apologies as I make it through the hallway.

8:50 am – Drop off Hooligan 2 at daycare. He’s potty training, so I’ve brought about a dozen extra outfits and chat for a moment with his teacher. He runs off clutching a Batman action figure as I try to steal a kiss.

9:05 am -- “Go Put your Records On” plays as I cross the Fort Henry Bridge. This stretch of road is perpetually under construction anymore, but the sun is shining over the river, and you can feel that it’s Friday.

9:08 am -- Arrive at my building on Chapline Street, the local home of The Wheeling Feeling. I never hesitate to marvel at how beautiful this old home is, how lucky I feel to get to spend three days a week here working alongside my dad. What does he do? A little of everything. What do I do? The same thing.

9:15 am – Dad’s on the phone (as always), so I settle in at my desk. There’s an envelope with a magazine and a note from Sister Joanne Gonter. We have a sizeable collection of Mount de Chantal yearbooks here at the office and Sister has blessed us by keeping in touch and sending me other items of interest for our M de C blog.

9:40 am – I remember that Hooligan 2 stole half my breakfast and eat an apple as I check over emails. One of my jobs is providing blog content for Quiet Minds West Virginia. We’re launching our own podcast soon, and it’s very exciting! I need to write a piece introducing that project and a short script that will eventually become our audio intro.

10:10 am – Job #2 is calling – literally – in the form of one of my travel agency clients asking for pricing for a trip to Turks and Caicos. I resist the urge to daydream about turquoise water, blue skies, the perfect white sand of Grace Bay… sorry, what was I saying? Yes, in addition to being a mom, The Wheeling Feeling’s resident Girl Friday, and a blogger, I also work as an agent for Westwind Travel. It hasn’t been the easiest few years, but travel is my passion, and I can’t wait to continue to share it with others. I said when I was 18 that my dream job would be to work as a travel writer and every day I feel a little bit closer to making it real.

11:00 am – Responding to emails from the Boss Lady, aka one Mrs. Vanessa Govindan Turner. We’re working on revamping some of The Wheeling Feeling’s webpage content, so I make notes on what I think needs to change and carve out some time next week to do it.

12 pm – Lunch time! I accompany dad on an errand, feed the parking meter, and grab some Arby’s before it’s back to my desk to work on the blog some more. Did you know there’s such a thing as Cotard’s Delusion that makes people believe they’re dead? Yikes!

2:30 pm – Time to pick up my boys!  Now would be a great time for one of those cups of coffee our wonderful readers have bought to help us fund this blog. I quickly do some mom math to see if I have time to visit one of Wheeling’s locally owned coffee shops but settle instead for a drive-thru iced mocha.

3:45 pm – I get a text from Vanessa with some font choices for a product we’re working on for the future. If you know nothing else about graphic design (like me), know this: font choice is very important. I pick the one I think works best and oh, my, it’s so cute. Just you wait!

5:30 pm – My husband walks in through the door, stepping over piles of laundry in our kitchen and saying the words I most love to hear on a Friday night, “Where should we get dinner from?”.  I make a quick run back into town for takeout before we all settle in to watch a Disney movie together in the living room. To say this is my absolute favorite moment of the week would be a massive understatement.

9:30 pm – The Hooligans are in bed and I get a message from a travel client saying she’s ready to book her trip to Mexico. Woohoo!

10:15 pm – Yes, it’s a Friday night and yes, I am in bed. Quite happily in fact. I close my eyes and think back over what a crazy week it’s been. I say a prayer of thanks for this crazy life I’m leading and all the opportunities and people it’s brought with it. It’ll be time to do it all again tomorrow, because when you follow your passions, work doesn’t really take a weekend. I wouldn’t want it any other way.