Opera Star and Reporter legend, Aimee Marcoux Spurlock, who was honored by The Royal Television Society, is deliciously down to earth and funny. I first met Aimee at an intimate birthday dinner that a dear friend of ours was having. We bonded immediately and delighted in sharing stories about our children. I love her ease at being completely un-filtered but thoughtful when it comes to discussing her family.
We here at Old Fashioned Mom are proud to introduce Aimee Marcoux Spurlock as our second Celebrity Mother!
1. How would I describe myself?
I am a bright, funny, caring, fiercely loyal woman who is blessed every day with the gift of the Holy Spirit. I find humor in the fact that while writing this, I asked myself this question out loud and my daughter, Hadley, said virtually the same list except she said, “pretty, too”. She’s so observant.
I am also a Clergy Spouse, which means I am married to a Clergyman. My husband of seventeen years is an Episcopal priest at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York City. Most of my spare time away from the family is given to the many jobs of a Clergy Spouse at the church. Ministering, comforting the sick and hospitality are just some of things that I feel blessed to be able to do.
I find humor in almost every facet of my life. I am a wife, mother, singer, actor, watercolor painter, writer and award winning journalist. My singing resume boasts over fifty world-wide operatic, and musical theater roles to my credit , but my most challenging and rewarding project to date has been Motherhood. I love it. Some days more than others.
2. Please tell us about your children?
How long is this article? Okay, I’ll keep it short. My son, Atticus, who was born in New York City, was named after Atticus Finch in, “To Kill a Mockingbird”. My husband, before Holy Orders, was in publishing at Harper Collins and I was in television at the time. We both had a love for American Literature and would take turns reading to one another. One of our choices was ,”To Kill a Mockingbird”. Michael read “Atticus”, and I said, “Wow, what a great name for a boy”! And that was it!
Atticus has truly lived up to the big name which we gave him. He is a brilliant young man. He is 15 years old and a Freshman in High school. He is a budding classicist with amazing strength in History and Latin. He is kind, handsome and extremely good to his younger sister. He was in a major motion picture with Catherine-Zeta Jones last year and is saving his money to go to Oxford University in Great Britain.
Hadley is my gift from God. I had quite a few miscarriages (actually Atticus was a twin) and had given up on having another child. I remember the day of 9/11 as I was running from the toppling Trade Center, the police screaming for me to,”move”, and, “run for your life”. As I was running down the street, I remember verbally praying, “Lord, please don’t let me die, because I want to have another baby”. It was Hadley’s face I saw in that vision.
She was born during my husband’s last year of Seminary in Wisconsin. She was a blessing from the start. Hadley is sweet, bright, beautiful, funny, charming and full of energy. She is 7 and in the Second grade. Her passion is ballet. She is just finishing her first year with The Joffrey Ballet and will be in their production of “The Nutcracker”.
They both attend private schools in Manhattan.
My Mother has always said to me, “Aimee, you rear children and you raise cattle”. I never really fully understood that until I became a parent. Being a full time Mom is more than a commitment, it is an opportunity for greatness.
Cattle don’t require much work…you just feed and water them. Child-rearing, on the other hand, takes finesse. Cattle don’t ask for help with homework, or have a broken heart but children do.
Having children who have different interests is challenging sometimes, but that is the “art form” called parenting. We,as mothers are called to be in three places at once and be interested in everything. To do
that requires grace!
3. What makes you an Old Fashioned Mom?
I’ve always felt as if I were a salmon swimming upstream with regard to my choice of lifestyle. It is a difficult choice to be “old-fashioned” in this ego-centric culture we have today.
I secretly always wanted to be an Old Fashioned Mom-even when I was globe-hopping as an opera singer, I knew that one day I would trade my sequined gowns for my vintage, ruffled aprons!
Cooking, baking,cleaning and making house are only a small part of what makes me traditional.
It’s an attitude. An attitude of putting the family first.
I love being “there” for my husband and children. The most important time of the day for the kids is right after school. I like to sit with them over a hot cocoa and a snack whilst homework gets done. They are happy that I am there to listen about the day at school and if I’m lucky, I’ll hear the latest gossip from the second grade.
4. What rules are you adamant about with your children?
Good Manners, clean underwear and thank you notes.
Seriously, Good manners are more than just, “Please and Thank you, Yes Ma’am and no, Sir”. Etiquette is also about good social conscience. We need to care for those people who make up our day… the bus-driver, the teacher, the students at school, the homeless man. Everyone deserves respect. In the eyes of Christ, we are all equal.
For the last five years, I have encouraged my children to serve with me every Saturday morning at our church’s Soup kitchen. We make over 300 meals and distribute them to the Homeless throughout Manhattan.
This act of service awakens their senses and encourages and attitude of gratitude which they share with others.
5. Describe for us your Family traditions.
We as a family all gear up towards the highlight of the day which is Family Dinnertime.
I begin dinner preparations early in the day and try my best to make something everyone will like! Sometimes I fail completely, like the one night I made “Frito Pie”. It was awful.
Our time together is special. Even if the food isn’t so great.Dinner always starts with a Prayer from one of the children. We trade stories from the day, make plans for the week and come up with the most
ridiculous puns and jokes. We have fun.
A perfect ending of the evening would be to pile up in Mommy and Daddy’s bed for popcorn and a movie!
6. How do you find time to do it all…Or do you?
Do you remember the old-fashioned plate spinner from the circus? I often feel like that. Somedays I am pulled in five different directions with the possibility of breaking countless plates along the
way. On those days, I take a deep breath and think about what is best for the family as a whole.
I try to reschedule the things I can and if it is impossible, I just “punt” and do my best!
Those are the days I am so thankful for take-out food, school uniforms, taxi-cabs and the internet. Because even though I may be old-fashioned, I know a good thing when I see it!
*Aimee is currently collaborating on a recital of the Debussy Ariette’s Oubliees for performance in New York City and World Premiere of The Yellow Wallpaper at Duke University.
