When Sarah Met Gwyneth

So, even though I’m running around like a madwoman prepping for the launch of The Violets of March (it’s out next week! Can you believe it?! And have you pre-ordered? Thank you so much!), I’ve still been keeping up with life as normal, which means the usual drill: taking care of little boys and a baby and forging ahead with all my magazine work, including my beloved (three years now on the job!) Glamour.com health and fitness blog, Vitamin G. And, I recently had the chance to interview Gwyneth Paltrow, a truly memorable moment. Gwyneth has a new cookbook out, My Father’s Daughter, which I think is pretty great. It’s packed with delicious and healthy (for the most part—the brownies don’t count) recipes and memories of her late father. So sweet.

A funny story to share: I’d set up a phone interview with Gwyneth on Friday for a time when I’d have childcare, but due to a scheduling mix up, she called two hours earlier—at 7:45 a.m. when I was in my bathrobe nursing my baby. The 2-year-old and 4-year-old were watching Sesame Street, and I was simultaneously spooning cereal in their mouths. Yeah, not exactly great timing! Gwyneth’s PR rep said it was her only window to do the interview, so I had two choices: a.) cancel, or b.) figure out a way to plow through, with a baby in my lap. Yup, you guessed it—I did the interview!

When Gwyneth came on the line, she was kind and lovely and assured me that she’s been in my situation many times when she had to do an important call while bouncing a baby or while her kids ran around in the background. She was so reassuring and fun, I felt like I was just talking to a fellow mom who is so used to the chaos of motherhood.

So, as the baby nursed (you can imagine how awkward this was), which was my way of pacifying him while I talked, I took notes. I should also add: I’m a third-time mama, so I’m skilled at the art of multi-tasking while nursing, but that still didn’t make it easy. Colby—2 months old—didn’t really want to play along, so he fussed a bit as I took notes (wiggling around in protest) and asked questions as quickly as I could.

I will always remember the time I interviewed Gwyneth with a baby in my arms, and I hope it will be a reminder to others (and to myself) of what we can accomplish as mothers. 🙂