Life Lessons:
Tracy Beckerman
Are you happy at the moment?
Most of the time, except when I have to clean dog pee off the floor.
If you could go back and say anything to your 16-year-old self now – what would it be?
You know that Farrah Fawcett haircut you thought you looked so good in? No. Just no. Ditto the Earth Shoes and the Gloria Vanderbilt jeans. Don’t feel bad though. We all make mistakes and someday we will both be wearing Mom Jeans, which is about the worst offense of all.
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned this year?
Some things are just not in my control. I wrote the best book I could and I’m promoting the heck out of it, but I can’t control whether or not people will buy it and I have to be OK with the outcome either way.
What do you most want to achieve in the next 12 months?
My son is going off to college and my daughter is firmly entrenched in high school. My kids don’t need me the same way they used to so it’s time to reinvent myself once again. I’m hoping to be a successful author, but if not, I can always go back to delivering singing telegrams in a gorilla suit.
What’s your secret to happiness?
Laughter.
What one ritual or practice keeps you grounded?
Every night I get down on my knees and say a prayer of thanks for all the blessings in my life. I also eat a lot of ice cream
What’s your biggest regret?
That I didn’t buy more ice cream the last time I was at the supermarket.
What’s the most important lesson you’ve taught your kid(s)?
To find the humor in situations. If they can learn to laugh at things that are disappointing, frustrating or uncomfortable, they will be much happier in general. I also taught them it doesn’t matter whether you tie your shoes with bunny ears or the “grown up” way, as long as they’re tied.
What bad habit would you most like to change about yourself?
I make jokes when people ask me serious questions.
Aside from motherhood and marriage what are you most proud of in your life?
Becoming a mother IS the single most important thing I have ever done. But I also made a really neat loop potholder with my daughter once.
When were you happiest?
I am happiest right now. I am exactly where I want to be. Except maybe on a beach in the Caribbean. I’d like to be there, too.
What ten words best describe you?
Funny, irreverent, loving, unpredictable, passionate, creative, stubborn, ambitious, devoted, hungry.
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Tracy Beckerman began writing after she moved with two young children to the suburbs of New Jersey from New York City as a way to find herself and share a few laughs about the endless sea of “mom bob” haircuts, minivans, and coordinated tennis outfits. What started out as a single column for a local NJ paper a few years ago turned into a hit and is now nationally syndicated to over 400 newspapers, 250 websites and reaches nearly 10 million readers in 25 states. Tracy has appeared on The Today Show, CBS Early Show and Better TV. Her latest blog posts and column articles on marriage, funny family anecdotes, and being a “cool mom” in the suburbs can be found on her LOST IN SUBURBIA® blog (which won her the title of “America’s Top Blogger” by Lifetime Televisions’s hit TV show, “The Balancing Act” in 2010). Her new book, “Lost in Suburbia: A Momoir. How I Got Pregnant, Lost Myself, and Got My Cool Back in the New Jersey Suburbs” is now available (Perigee, 2013). To purchase, click here. You can follow Tracy at @TracyinSuburbia on Twitter and find her on the Today Show on Monday, May 20th (that’s next week!).
