LightFull Lady–Joy Rose
LightFull thinks that Joy rocks for juggling her many roles as a wife, mother, band member, Mamapalooza founder & community activist. Meet Joy.
Q. We all are looking for our own perfect balance in our lives, but I recognize that "balance" means something different to everyone. Describe your own perfect balance.
A. My perfect ‘balance’ is a rock ‘n roll juggling act: A cacophony of chaos, kids, wild creativity (Especially when I’m cooking) and LOVE with a capital ‘L’.
Q. What do you do when you want to reward yourself?
A. Eat chocolate. Buy something glittery. Go to Barbados.
Q. What is a typical day for you?
A. Wake up early. Make a healthy breakfast for the kids. Get online with all my Mamapalooza business, and try to remember to do at least one or two well-balanced things for myself, the dogs and the family. I work REALLY HARD. The band gigs out. The kids need stuff. The Festival Events take hours and hours of personal time. I basically work til I drop and never complain, because I LOVE WHAT I DO.
Q. Family: How many children do you have? What are their activities? Which activities do you make a priority and why?
A. Four kids; ages 18-13. They’re really physical and all play sports. I’m always calling their practices ‘rehearsals’ and calling their uniforms ‘costumes’ and they’re like, “Right, Mom”.
Oh, well….
Q. Tell me about your career, and how you got to where you are.
A. Sheer determination. “We are as we imagine ourselves to be.” I’m hardly gifted. Just completely enthusiastic about playing with my band, writing songs and doing the Mamapalooza-thing. I had a few records in the 80s on MTV and the Billboard Dance Charts, but working with Mom Musicians and creating something really new and empowering for women is so much more rewarding than anything else I can imagine.
Q. Community: What community service are you/have you been involved in? What inspires you to contribute your time to these charities?
A. My entire life is community and community service. I work with the ALR for Lupus Research, The Motherhood Foundation for empowerment and education for women, and Mamapalooza Festivals which are all about creating wonderful community outreach through the arts for social services available to mothers and families.
Q. What are your secrets for keeping your energy up and staying positive, focused and balanced in all of the activities that you juggle?
A. Prayer, feeding my passion and paying attention to my body.
Q. Do you have any tips or tricks that you can share to help fellow busy women stay in balance?
A. I DO start my day with yogurt. I DO believe in keeping an utterly positive attitude and when you can’t then reaching out to friends and family to stay grounded. Of course, there are the usuals, like getting enough sleep and exercise, but I think I forget to do some of those sometimes.
Q. Describe a time when you felt out of balance. How did you get back on track?
A. I was diagnosed with LUPUS in 1994 and ended up with a kidney transplant. That was pretty out of balance. I got back on track by learning to listen to my inner guidance and following the course of action that seemed the most inspired. Inspiration and creativity are the essence of life. The more in touch we are with the FUNdamentals of our personal life-journey, the more in synch we are and the more we stay on track.
Q. What are your goals for the future?
A. Everything Mom!! There isn’t one area I don’t hope to be involved in as far as leaving a lasting legacy of empowerment, courage and creativity for women and women who are mothers. Opportunities ROCK.
Q. If you could leave the world/your children with one gift, what would it be?
A.Too many to count. I’m greedy. I’d leave them with LOVE, LOVE and LOVE!
