Motivational Mom of the Month - Gianna Stanley

Megan Ford

Happy September! We hope that you have settled into a new routine with all the back to school things! This time of year feels like new beginnings when your kiddos start a new school year, doesn't it?

New beginnings are happening over here too with your newest instructor, Gianna! Please welcome her to the team and enjoy her interview for our September Motivational Mom of the Month!

How did you find FIT4MOM Richmond and how long have you been a part of our village?

I found Fit4Mom right at the halfway point during my pregnancy in the fall of 2021 - I was just getting my energy back and ready to try prenatal fitness. I did Fit4Baby at Libbie Mill until I was 7 months pregnant. Around 5 months after my daughter was born, we started going to Stroller Strides and I recently finished my training to become a Stroller Strides instructor!

What do you love most about being part of this community?

I love how warm and inviting everyone is. From the moment I set foot in class, I had new friends who genuinely checked in with me. Motherhood can be so isolating, it was incredible to finally have a group of women I could be my raw self around.

Who are you a mom to?

I am mom to Logan, who is a wildly outgoing crazy lady! Most days she loves Stroller Strides, especially when there are bubbles.

What is your favorite thing about being a mom?

My favorite part of being a mom is that no two days are the same. I like to ground myself in the impermanence of each phase of motherhood! It really helps me appreciate the little precious moments during the chaotic days that seem to never end.

What two items would you take with you if you were shipwrecked on a deserted island where all your food and water needs were taken care of?

My Kindle and Sunscreen!

If you had a time machine, would you travel to the future or back to the past?

Ok this is a tough question!! I'd like to keep the element of surprise going with the future, so I'll say travel to the past - maybe check out some dinosaurs!

How do you practice self-care?

I love to give myself manicures and take a bath! Reading has also been a great form of self-care recently.

Where did you grow up and how did you end up in Richmond?

I grew up in New Jersey, about 20 minutes outside of Manhattan. I went to college in Boston, worked as a data analyst, and spent 8 years in total there before moving to NYC to pursue my dreams of becoming a chef. Partway through 2020, my husband and I made our way down to Richmond to escape our tiny apartment and fell in love with this city. Originally, Richmond was meant to be the first stop of a "nomadic journey," but just a few weeks into our short term Airbnb, we started to look for permanent housing. Three years in and I am more obsessed than ever!

How did becoming a mother change you?

Becoming a mother has been a profound experience in learning patience and self acceptance! Logan is the most courageous, confident and driven person I know. Witnessing her tenacity is inspiring for me, I feel like I am constantly learning from her!

What is the last great book or television series you've read/watched?

I recently read "A Psalm for the Wild Built" and surprisingly loved it. In terms of TV, I am currently rewatching Breaking Bad and enjoying it every bit as much as the first time watching it a decade ago!

How did you meet your partner?

I had just gotten out of a relationship, and moved to a new neighborhood. A mutual friend made the connection that Matt and I were neighbors and brought us together to celebrate New Years Eve (2016 into 2017). For a little over a year we became good friends, exchanged cat-sitting services and watched a lot of Celtics games together. Until one fateful bar crawl that ended with "I love you, we should be together" and the rest is history! We ended up eloping at City Hall ahead of our planned wedding on Matt's "I love you"-versary a couple years later

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I have ADHD, so it was constantly changing. Most memorably, for my pre-school graduation we had to draw a poster of ourselves dressed up as what we had wanted to be when we grew up. Obviously having little knowledge of how I would turn out from both a height and coordination perspective, my poster was decorated with Michael Jordan's jersey & shorts.

If you could choose one song to play every time you walked into a room for the rest of your life, what song would you choose and why?

Suddenly I see by KT Tunstall

If your five-year-old self suddenly found themselves inhabiting your current body, what would they do first?

Drive directly to a candy store and max out my credit cards on sweets. All the salty sweet chocolatey things and gummy candies!!!

Gianna, can I just say I LOVE your story of how you ended up in Richmond!! That is probably one of the most interesting ways I've ever heard! We're so glad that Richmond went from being your first stop on your nomadic journey to home :)

Be sure to catch Gianna and her sidekick Logan at a Stroller Strides class! We can't make any promises but there could be bubbles ;)

- megan