Kim Williams
Mom to Chris, age 34, Nick, age 32,
Jennifer, age 30, Alex, age 29, Sam, age 24,
Abigail, age 22 and Noah, age 18
Manassas, VA
Kim is described as a “super
hero” by her friends and family.

She’s a single-mother to seven,
grandmother and is deeply
involved in her community. Kim is
an avid volunteer and advocate,
and involved in many non-profit
organizations. Occupation
Personal Care Attendant, Full-time
babysitting grandma, Advocate for
children and families
What advice would you give to new
or expectant moms?
Read, learn and listen to everything,
take away what fits, and just do you.

Every parent feels they’ve fallen short,
but that just proves it matters to you.

Hug a lot—I felt as though I missed
too many opportunities. Always wear
comfortable shoes. You never know
when you’re going to have to run.

Parenting is not for sissies. Whine if
you need to, then stand up and move
on because you are the bottom line
now. Kids learn more from watching
you than they do from listening to you,
good or bad.

How has motherhood changed your
outlook on life?
I’ve stopped taking pictures and
learned to live the moments. I’ve
learned that I can be an imperfect
parent and they can be imperfect
children/adults and it only makes us
26 May 2017 washingtonFAMILY.com
I’ve learned that I can be
an imperfect parent and they can be
imperfect children/adults and it only
makes us love each other more.

love each other more. I’ve learned the
value of “I’m sorry” in both directions.

I’ve realized that success is a really
individual experience and no one type
is more right than another. I have the
additional perspective of having a son
with disabilities and that’s taught me a
lot. I’m so flexible, I’m fluid.

How do you think your child(ren)
would describe you?
I’d be described as strict, but well-
intentioned. They would say I expect
a lot of those around me, and they
would be right. They’d also say that I
believe family matters to me and that I
care about people, but that I could use
more patience. They would all agree
that I have a good sense of humor—
that’s mandatory in motherhood.

Secret to balancing:
During the worst of it I learned to live
on less sleep. (Sleep is for the weak.

It’s highly overrated.) I also learned to
prioritize how I expend myself. I also
learned to minimize. For example, kids
don’t know the difference between
food that took 20 minutes to cook
and food that took all day. Most
importantly, live with gratitude. It
makes the lack of sleep and hours of
exhaustive effort way easier
to manage.