THERE was a void in Steveston.
It was a social chasm identified about 18 months ago by two of the village’s working moms — Jen Schaeffers and Erinn Bryan — during a “girls night out.”
The pair, both moms of two young kids, realized there was a ton of events and opportunities for moms and their kids in Steveston, but precious few for ladies without the children in tow and bereft of the time to network and socialize.
From that moment, Schaeffers and Bryan hatched a plan to connect the village’s growing army of professional working moms; offering a support platform for swapping ideas, sharing life’s stresses and opening a door to walk through and be themselves once in a while.
And in the spring of 2013, the pair launched, through Facebook. the Steveston Moms Network, which now has 315 likes, has forged dozens of new friendships — and rekindled old ones — and hosts event nights on matters such as self-care, guilt and one coming up on sex.
“I was on maternity leave with my second child and I was connecting with other moms at the gym and places like that,” said Schaeffers, who juggles being a mom with her “day job” as executive director of the CKNW Orphans’ Fund.
“But when I went back to work, that sucks up the week, and weekends are then filled with shopping and running around after the kids.
“I was still living in this community, but I felt disconnected from other like-minded people. We wanted to foster a larger community circle and connect with people in similar situations.
“We’re a really supportive group and there have been so many friendships made as a result.”
FOR Bryan — who co-owns O’Hare’s Gastropub and events company Host Holdings with husband Grant — socializing and networking comes naturally, such is her daily working environment.
Even so, she was acutely aware that not everyone had the same opportunities and she was determined to change all of that.
“It’s a great vehicle for people to tell their daily stories and to celebrate each other, share our stresses in our lives and to realize they’re not alone,” explained Bryan, who also somehow engineers time for her roles as a board director on the Steveston Merchants Association, organizing the Steveston Girls Night Out and the fundraising walkathon for her daughter’s school.
“It certainly opened my eyes when we started meeting people at our events.
“This is the community coming together and there are so many working moms in Steveston now.
“There are people who are fairly new to the community and when they come along and see what we’re doing, they’re in awe.”
As well as many “really tight friendships,” Bryan highlighted how many local businesses, run by group members, have flourished as a result of the connections fostered through the Steveston Moms Network.
YOU would be surprised to hear what women talk about when they get together,” said Schaeffers.
Schaeffers said she and Bryan place their fingers on the group’s pulse when it comes to deciding the subject matter for their next event night, for which more than 200 women have turned out in the past.
They’ve brought in speakers and coaches for areas such as: the importance of “Self Care,” “Mommy Guilt” and “Eating for Energy.”
Next up — and one that’s sure to pique interest in a few — “Sex, Marriage and Kids” on Nov. 6.
“When women are in their circles, they’ll talk in great detail about this kind of thing,” revealed Schaeffers.
“We’re bringing in registered sexual health nurse Maureen McGrath, who does the Sunday Night Sex Show on CKNW.
“It’s going to be all about us working women, keeping the fire alive in our relationships.
“It’s going to be at the Chinese Bunkhouse at Britannia Heritage Shipyard and there will be plenty of wine there I’d imagine for this one; which will help with the questions, many of which, I’m guessing, will be anonymous.”
If you’d like to join the group, simply hit “like” on their Facebook page at facebook.com/StevestonMomsNetwork.
YOU would think mom-of-two Kerri-Anne Livingstone, as a life/business coach and guest speaker, would have it all worked out when it comes to juggling professional and parenting duties.
Even for a woman of Livingstone’s calibre, it’s a challenge for her and husband Scott, who runs Steveston Acupuncture, getting two rambunctious little boys, Denny, five, and Beau, two, out the door on time every morning.
“It’s a lot of fun, that’s for sure and there’s rarely a dull morning,” said Livingstone, as she prepared her sons’ backpacks on the way out of the family’s Springfield Drive condo.
“My husband and I take it in turn to work three days each out of six and then keep one day as a family day, when we kinda come together.
“It’s a very unique arrangement, but it seems to work for us and the kids.”
Brought up on Vancouver Island, living in the U.S. and then moving to Steveston in 2006, Livingstone said the launch of the Steveston Moms Network on Facebook 18 months ago was a godsend.
“Beforehand, many (of the women) were in small groups and had pre-established relationships; many from high school days,” said Livingstone.
“It was hard to break into those cliques as Steveston is a very tight-knit circle and it was kinda hard to break into that circle.
“When you’re in the park with the kids and speaking to other moms, we can only go so far with what we’re talking about and rarely get to finish a sentence.”
When hooking up through the Facebook group however, “it’s almost like we get to go out and be ourselves,” Livingstone described.
“We’re still moms when we go out, but this is a chance to connect with other women.”
JEN Schaeffers and her husband, Jeff, did childcare for a while for their five- and two-year-old kids; but it just wasn’t working.
The couple brought in a live-out nanny, who drops Kaylee off at school, picks her up and takes little Ronan to whatever program he’s in when Schaeffers, co-founder of the Steveston Moms Network, and her husband, a geo-technical engineer, are at their full-time jobs.
“Our nanny usually comes in at around 7:30 a.m., by which time we’re usually up and dressed and sometimes able to have breakfast with the kids,” said Schaeffers, executive director of the CKNW Orphans’ Fund.
“Some mornings, around 5:30 a.m., I’ll manage a run with my friend or take part in a boot camp.
“Most days, I’ll get home at 4:30 or 5 p.m. and make dinner, take the dog for a walk and the kids will be in bed for 8:30. It’s usually then onto the computer for work stuff until 11:30 or so. But there is some flexibility in my job and there are some evenings I’ll work and some days I’ll finish early and get home to spend more time with the kids.”
SPOTTING the windows of opportunity and jumping through them is the almost daily deal for Erinn Bryan when it comes to spending quality time with her kids, Pippa, six, and Collieson, four.
After dropping the sprogs off at school and pre-school respectively, Bryan, co-founder of the Steveston Moms Network, might just about squeeze in a workout before heading to O’Hare’s Gastropub on Steveston Highway that she co-owns with husband Grant.
From there on in, right through until closing time, running a busy pub eats up the vast majority of Bryan’s clock.
“I usually take Sunday and Monday off as best I can, as they are our quietest days,” said Bryan from her single-family home just a block or two away from the pub.
“Those are our family days and we do our best to keep it that way.”
During the week, Bryan said she can “nip home late afternoon to have a quick dinner with the kids or pop out later at night to tuck them into bed,” but paid homage to her “amazing team” at O’Hare’s and “wonderful” live-in nanny Jeanette.
“I spend most of the evenings at the pub, as does Grant, but we make sure we spend a lot of time together as a family.”
