INTRODUCTION
My dear Maddie,
Soon, you will graduate from high school and move on to college, becoming even more independent and going forward with your life.
Your father and I have been blessed to have you and your brother Jack in our lives, and before you graduate, I want to fulfill a promise that I made to you a long time ago. When you were about four years old and we were living in Maine, we would escape to the barn frequently to ride our horse, Fancy Face. We talked as a mom and daughter, and I said to you in a very carefree way one day, “Oh, Maddie, someday I’m going to explain all this to you and write you a book about Mommy being a coach and all.” That’s where the idea for this book started, before your brother Jack was even born.
Yet this is not just any ordinary book. My goal in writing this is to help provide you with a more complete understanding of our lives together, and to help you become a better person by learning through my experiences. Like every working mother’s, my life has been filled with difficult challenges—and remarkable moments. I have been thrilled to be a wife, a mother, and a college basketball coach. All of those experiences have provided me with knowledge that I truly want to pass along to you.
Sometimes there are not enough hours in the day to do everything that needs to be done, and that is a frustrating feeling. I have always viewed this balance as a continuous journey—sometimes all-consuming and sometimes overwhelming—but certainly always powerful ...
