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By: Gretchen Sparling
Date Posted: 4/27/2009
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Mom Next Door: Pat Smith on Family, Faith and Finding Her Passion
OCCUPATION: Founder and spokeswoman of Treasure You, a women’s support group that hosts conferences and luncheons devoted to encouraging women to find their passion in life.
PERSONAL STATS: Smith was the first African American woman to win the title of Miss Virginia in 1993 and was named first runner-up in the 1994 Miss USA Pageant. She then began her acting career with roles in The Wayans Brothers Show, Beverly Hills 90210 and Sunset Beach. The Dallasite, wife of Cowboy’s legend Emmitt Smith and mother of four, also dedicates much of her time to Pat and Emmitt Smith Charities, an organization that supports disadvantaged children.
HOW DID TREASURE YOU BEGIN? “Before Emmitt went on Dancing With the Stars I felt frustrated and that I had yet to really find my place and my passion in life. During Dancing, these feelings became really overwhelming. I spent a lot of my life dedicating myself to other people and I wanted to take the time to find other women who felt the same way as me. Now it has developed into a trio of segments on Good Morning Texas, during which I’ve found a deeper passion for connecting to women in general.”
WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE? “My ultimate goal is to help women tap into their purpose, passion and power in life so that they can start feeling fulfilled and happy — this feeling of contentment has made me a better woman, wife and mom.”
HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR BUSY LIFE IN BALANCE? “For me, it’s all about faith. Every morning I get up and pray. It helps ground me. Then, of course, Emmitt is there to pitch in and help! We have four kids, so it’s a challenge. But we love it. And thankfully we have lots of help. I do make a point to sit down on Monday and plan out our week, so that we all know the game plan. Things may change, but at least we have some structure.”
WHAT IS YOUR PARENTING STRATEGY? “I am not my kids’ friend, I’m their mother. I really look forward to the day when my relationships with my kids can grow into friendship, but until then they know that I’m in charge [laughs].”
WHO IS YOUR MOM ROLE MODEL? “I really look up to Michelle Obama. She inspires me as a professional woman and mom. You can just tell that her kids are her top priority — I love that about her. I had the opportunity to meet her in Dallas during the campaign and she was very rushed and said that she was in a hurry because she wanted to get back and put her kids to bed. That just really struck me.”
WHAT ABOUT YOUR KIDS DO YOU FIND HUMBLING? “They don’t get caught up in who their father is … he’s just dad to them. Also, it’s really humbling when my son gets affectionate — it’s a striking difference to his athletic, manly persona. It makes me think, ‘Admit it, you do need your mom!’”
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