Meet Kristen Taylor!

Hello, beautiful mamas! My name is Kristen Taylor. I’m so excited to be a small part of this community and I can’t wait to see Lubbock moms grow closer and stronger together.

I’m a boy mom to Harrison (2) and Holden (almost 1). I have been married to Clay for 6 years. My talents include changing one boy’s diaper while simultaneously keeping the other from putting all the things in the toilet, remembering to move the clothes from the washer to the dryer, and finding missing sippy cups before the milk spoils. Yes, that’s right, I’m a stay at home mom. It’s a job I adore and get frustrated with, which I’m sure will come out in my writing. Before having kids I was an elementary school teacher for 9 years and now I do teach 4-year-olds a couple of days a week at a local Kid’s Day Out.

So, why Lubbock? Well, that’s a very long story that I would love to tell you over coffee one day. The short version is that I grew up in West Texas, graduated from Texas Tech, and got out as soon as I could. I lived in several places in the 10 years that I was away from Lubbock. I married a Mississippi boy (that accent, though!), moved to Mississippi with him, had a baby, and was on maternity leave fully intending to return to teaching when Clay went through a job transition and accepted a position at Texas Tech. I resigned my teaching position, we sold our Mississippi house, packed up our 3-month-old, and headed west, closer to my family but farther from his. Lubbock had changed a lot in the 10 years I was away. Not only has it changed, but living here as a mom is very different than living here as a college student. In college, I didn’t know anything existed past 82nd street, and even that seemed far!

My favorite thing about Lubbock, by far, is the people. Y’all, I’ve lived in the deep South where people are known for being nice, and they are, but they don’t hold a candle to the genuine, kind, people of Lubbock, Texas. Allow me to tell you a little story to illustrate my point. We were flying home to Lubbock after attending a family funeral. We were emotionally and physically exhausted. Our flight from Dallas was delayed 1 hour, then 2 hours, then 3, and so on. There was another flight heading to Lubbock that was originally later than ours, but it became apparent that it was going to take off before our original flight. I went to the desk holding my 6-month-old and begged them for 2 seats on that flight. When they told me we would be numbers 4 and 5 on the standby list, I started crying. Not just crying, but ugly crying where hot tears just keep coming out and you want them to stop because you are a grown woman, but they just won’t. I was tired, my baby was cranky, I was running out of formula, and I was just done. Of course, everyone waiting to board that flight to Lubbock saw. About 3 minutes later they called our names and told us we were off the standby list and had seats on the plane. They wouldn’t confirm it, but I know in my heart some good-hearted Lubbock citizens saw what was going on and gave up their seats. There is no way we went from numbers 4 and 5 on the list to us both having seats that fast. The thing is, my story isn’t even all that uncommon. Every one of you could tell a story about how your day was made by a Lubbock stranger. When I’m out with my boys, doors are opened for me, compliments are given, and, honestly, I think my kids would be shocked if we went somewhere and no strangers stopped to talk to them. The people here are truly the salt of the earth.

As much as I love Lubbock, I wish there was more of a family-friendly vibe downtown. I love the idea of downtowns being the heart of the city where everyone comes together. I know the city has made great strides in recent years to improve our downtown, but I think we have a ways to go. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a splash pad downtown? A park similar to the Klyde Warren concept in downtown Dallas? A designated area for food trucks? There is so much potential and I’m hoping our leaders come up with something for the many families in our community.

Well mama, if you see me aimlessly wandering the aisles of Target or trying to control my wild, little men at the Science Spectrum, please say hi and introduce yourself! I love to meet new people and form new friendships! I’m so glad you are following along with us at Lubbock Moms Blog!