The Larsonville Family

Family

I’m the mother to four children: Claire (15 years old), Rosalie (10 years old), Alice (9 years old), and August (3 years old). My husband and I are so lucky to have these rays of sunshine in our lives. I’m thankful that my children have been so patient and kind to me all these years as I chase them around with a camera, engage in media literacy discussions on everything from Disney princess movies to social media, and ask them questions about politics, gender, race, and religion. Don’t worry, I don’t do all three of those activities at the same time; even that would be too much multitasking for me!

One of the questions that I have been asked is, “How do you do it?” I’ll say that the only superhuman quality about me is the ability to find ANYTHING in our very chaotic house within about 30 seconds. Haha.

But, seriously, a lot of my success comes from being mindful (being completely present at the task at-hand, not looking too far ahead, not looking back and ruminating on “what if”), taking care of myself (for me, that looks like stretching, walking in nature, and reading), and never thinking that I couldn’t do something (tell yourself you’re a badass every day and you start believing it). I was told that I shouldn’t have a baby in graduate school and I shouldn’t have more babies as I sought tenure. But my babies gave me gifts of endurance, strength, humility, compassion, time management, mindfulness, focus, meaning, joy, resilience, and so much more. Having a family enhanced my professional career because I became a stronger researcher, instructor, and mentor. That was my journey. But it’s not for everyone. And we all deserve respect for the child-filled or child-free lives that we live.

I also gain so much stength, happiness, and companionship from my husband. My husband is super fancy with a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and a master’s and a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering sciences. He is a registered professional engineer with 15+ years experience in research, teaching, and engineering. His primary topics of interest are sustainable waste management, remediation, water treatment, and air pollution control. Yeah, he’s gonna save the world at RTI. 🙂 And I’m his biggest fan.