Kellie Martin's Blog: The Sky’s Not the Limit

Kellie is an Emmy-nominated actress who recently appeared on Lifetime’s Army Wives, and is perhaps best known for her work on ER and Life Goes On. She has assumed a new role with her takeover of ROMP, an online modern children’s boutique. Kellie is mom to 5-year-old daughter Maggie and hopes that ROMP will "inspire conscious, thoughtful parenting practice and will, in turn, help moms feel confident and fulfilled.” 

Dinner:

Maggie:  “Mama, can I be a doctor when I get big?”
Me: (grinning proudly) “Of course.  You can be anything you want to be.”
Maggie:  “A doctor for turtles?”
Me:  “Yep.”
Maggie:  “Can I be an astronaut too?  And can I go to space… today?”

Do you remember when all of this felt possible?  Think for a moment about how you used to dream when you were a kid.  Without filters.  Big reckless dreams.  And why on Earth couldn’t they happen… today?

I miss my ability to believe completely in my own ability.  If just for a day, I wish I could have an ounce of the unbridled ambition I had when I was Maggie’s age.

My childhood ego was pretty darn healthy, if I do say so myself.  Let’s just be honest, I thought I was the BOMB.  According to me I was hilarious, smart, cute and super energetic.  And armed with these attributes, I dreamed big.  Like my daughter, I wanted to be an astronaut, but then there was that whole not-being-so-good-at-math-or-science thing.  I also wanted to be a detective, just like Nancy Drew.  Maybe an undercover homicide detective!  My dad told me that the only way he’d allow me to be a cop was on television.  Television.  That sounded good.  So, I decided that I would be an actress, and I actually followed through with it.  Luckily you don’t second-guess yourself when you’re 7 years old.

Maybe my parents would have preferred that I become a doctor (even for turtles) rather than an actor, but they always encouraged me to follow my heart.  And even though my boundless self-confidence started waning about the time I hit teenagedom, I’m grateful for the supportive foundation I had as a kid.  I hope I can give Maggie that same support and preserve her ability to believe completely in her own ability for a long as possible.

PS: Thank you Sally Ride, for inspiring us (kids, especially girls) to dream big.

More from Kellie Martin:

• The Loneliest Number
• Curly Joe and the Meaning of Life

You can find Kellie on Twitter, Facebook and at her awesome online shop, ROMP.