Hey babes! I’m still fighting some kind of sickness but work and motherhood never stops. I’ve been editing for what seems like days. So many beautiful weddings and even family sessions! Dang I love what I do! Speaking of what I do, I was honored to photograph my next Blush Babe before she was even a Blush babe! She is seriously so sweet and has a love for God that is inspiring. Make sure you read all the way to the end. Her first favorite quote is one of my ALL time faves! I live by it daily.
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself:
Hi everyone! I’m Lucy O’Connor – but I still feel like Lucy Pendergast. Over the past four months I’ve gotten married, bought a house, and started two new jobs. You could say the control freak in me is freaking out just a little. So many things in my life have changed, but I am so thankful for each and every one of them. I’m no longer a cheer captain student council president running the school, or a daughter and sister helping out around the house. I’m a coach teaching my athletes the skills in their sport and the most important life lessons. I’m a wife running the house and supporting my husband. After my first session with Kim back in February – as a gift to my now hubby – I realized
that through all the changes and uncertainties in my life right now being confident and proud of who I am needed to come first. I can’t be a successful wife, coach, teacher, daughter, sister, etc., if I don’t believe in me. The first step to that is finding strength and grace in each and every moment and trusting God in the process.
2. What is a typical day like for you?
For the most part my days are pretty redundant I start around 6am with a 20 minute butt kicking workout – thank GOD for BeachBody on Demand! There’s no way I would have time in my schedule to make it to the gym for a workout so this has been a lifesaver for me. Once my workout is done I take five minutes for my devotional. I’ve really found that the days I rush and skip this step are much more scattered and I feel much more flustered than the mornings in which I take the time to read and pray. After that I shower, get
ready, and make my commute to work. I teach struggling students in math and reading at the elementary level and I absolutely love it. I’ve known my entire life that I wanted to teach and help children. Since graduating college in 2016 I’ve tried my hand as a classroom teacher at various grade levels as well as a paraprofessional and I can honestly say I’ve found my passion as an interventionist. When the school day ends around 3:00 I hop in the car and head to the high school in my district to coach cheerleading. Cheerleading is my first love. I started cheering in second grade and never looked back. I love teaching the sport, but more than that I love knowing that I’m guiding these
athletes in their personal and social growth as well. After practice is over at 5:30 I head home for the day. My husband works rotating shifts so some nights he’s home with dinner ready when I get there – he’s the best! – some nights I go home to an empty house and I reheat something or cook something quick, and some nights I’m home before him so I cook. I love cooking (most days) so this is sometimes my time to decompress and relax at the end of a long day. I try to pack lunch right after dinner while I’m still in the kitchen cleaning up so it’s one less thing for me to do in the morning. After that I do any variety of tasks around the house. Sometimes it’s laundry, sometimes it’s cleaning, and
sometimes it’s construction. If I’m not too exhausted after that I’ll do some planning and prep for work or coaching. Usually I end the day in bed with a little bit of TV or a book depending on how tired I am.
3. On hard days, what motivates you to get up and start your day?
On my hardest most sluggish days the lives I change motivate me to get out of bed. I always think about the number of children whose lives I touch each and every day. If they can get out of bed with smiles on their faces and come to school ready to learn, then why can’t I? I also think about the people in my life and those all over the world who get out
of bed with tremendous obstacles to climb. I know the blessings in my life and how truly lucky I am to live where I live, work where I work, and love who I love. Every single blessing in my life motivates me each morning.
4. Who inspires you to live your best life?
There are so many people in my life who inspire, and I am so thankful for all of them and the roles they’ve played in my life. My mom. Where do I even begin. Growing up my mom earned the nickname “Martha Stewart”. She can do it all. I have three siblings and every year we had the most elaborate homemade birthday parties matching any theme we could dream up from Spa’s to Candy Land to Wipeout and so much more. There was nothing she wouldn’t do to see us smile. Somehow though she simultaneously taught us the value of “no”. My mom wasn’t afraid to tell us no, but still makes us feel loved and understood. On top of all of that I’ve never seen a more loving and supportive wife. I truly would not be the woman I am today if it weren’t for her. My dad. One of the most hardworking, loving, patient men on this planet. With three daughters and a son his house was anything but quiet. He worked long days and always came home ready to listen to our stories, help us with homework, and even coach our soccer teams. As an adult I now know that money wasn’t in abundance as kids, but I never would have known it then. We never wanted for anything, and we were taught that in reality we didn’t need everything we may have wanted. He’s inspires me everyday to do everything I can for my family to make sure they are my top priority always. My nana. There is no one on this earth quite like her. She is the matriarch of our family and truly rules the roost like no other. Not a day goes by where her door isn’t open with a warm meal, a listening ear, and a life lesson. The mountains she’s climbed and the river’s she’s swam through give me hope and inspiration that there isn’t anything life throws at me that I can’t handle with a little prayer and a loving family.
My husband. My best friend. My inspiration. Lately this song hits me hard every
time I hear it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEJs_Bqx8_o . This man is the answer to every single one of my prayers. Even the unanswered ones (thank you Garth Brooks for that amazing truth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny-aotrUn3Q). He inspires me every day to be the best version of myself in so many ways. He helps me to see my strengths even in my weaknesses. He works so tirelessly every day to make sure I’m happy and taken care of. He even tells me when I’m being stubborn and talks through it with me. If not for this man I likely would not have had the success in any aspect of my life that I’ve had over the past seven years. He truly is everything to me, and he inspires me to be the best version of myself every day.
5. If you could go back and tell your 13 year old self something….what would that be?
Breathe. Take it in. Enjoy it. At 13 going on 14 I was on top of the world. I was beyond involved in high school. As the first in the third generation of Pendergasts to attend my high school, only 3 years after my grandfather retired from a 35+ teaching career at the same high school, I ruled the school – at least from my perspective. Everyone know who I was. I was never questioned roaming the halls. I should’ve been happy all the time. But instead I worried. I doubted every action. I questioned myself every day. If I could look that 13 year old in the eyes I would tell her to enjoy it. Soak in every moment. Grow in your confidence and let those around you lift you up, don’t question their sincerity in compliments. I would tell her to internalize the joy and remember it. Store the happy memories and throw away the bad ones. Most importantly I would tell her to believe in herself. Trust your gut. Make the choices that are right for you. Be true to yourself and don’t waiver from your morals. I often think about what I would have been like through high school if I had truly embraced the incredibly positive environment I was in while I was in it, instead of questioning myself at every step. If that 13 year old girl had seen in herself what others saw in her, this 25 year old would likely be a much more confident woman.
6. What is your favorite quote?
I’m a huge quote and bible verse person. They are my favorite place to find inspiration and just to give myself small reminders.
“She is clothed in strength and dignity and laughs without fear of the future.”
Proverbs 31:25
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
~Eleanor Roosevelt
“God is within her, she will not fall.” Proverbs 46:5
“To us family means putting your arms around each other and being there.”
~Barbara Bush
“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.” 1Corinthians 13:13
7. You are inspiring women to get out there and love themselves, what piece of advice would you give them?
Be you. It sounds so simple, but it is often so difficult. In a world where we can compare ourselves to millions of other women with the touch of a button, we are so quick to critique and criticize ourselves. We each were created with a purpose. We are all unique for a reason. Find the qualities in yourself that you’re proud of and that make you unique. Highlight them in your life, and don’t stray from them. It’s perfectly okay to draw inspiration from others, and to strive to emulate positive qualities in others, but don’t forget who you are. “Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is you-er than you. Shout aloud, I am glad to be what I am. Thank goodness I’m not a
ham, or a clam, or a dusty old jar of gooseberry jam. I am what I am, what a great thing to be. If I say so myself, happy everyday to me!” ~Dr. Seuss
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