Managing Mom

By Meredith Smith
Staff Writer

How is it possible to manage Corban’s bookstore full time, while also being a full-time mother?

            Heather Martin has found a way.

            “I try to entertain her when I can,” Martin says. “I pawn her off with the mailroom ladies for 10-15 minutes. [Assistant Manger] Sue [Roth] helps out a lot too, but [Kinsey] is getting too active.”

            For the first few months, Martin says bringing her baby to work was great. Kinsey would sleep or play in her crib so mommy could work.

            When asked how it has been being a mother and working full-time, Martin smiles. “Do you want the politically correct answer or the God-honest truth?”

            “Being a mom is hard. It’s hard work. It’s exhausting… It’s embarrassing,” she says, as Kinsey yells across the coffee shop table at a couple sitting nearby. Then she warns her daughter with a smile, “Go ahead and embarrass me because when you’re 13, it’s my turn.

            After being the bookstore manager for the past eight years and mother for the past 11 months,

Martin says she has learned from the experience: “She’s definitely made me use my time wisely now.” And the baby-at-work scenario is getting more challenging by the day.

            “She’s getting too active,” Martin says. “She’s really clingy and going through separation anxiety. Now she’s getting older, I wish sometimes I could stay home with her.” 

            She would also settle for a daycare on campus or students who could watch Kinsey on Tuesdays and Thursdays. “Then she would be here, and I could be close to her,” she says.

Kinsey Fun Facts