I just met a girl named Maria

Yesterday I attended a Maria Shriver book signing event and met the First Lady of California in person. I got to mingle and chat with the awesome bloggers of the Silicon Valley Moms Blog, have Maria sign me a copy of her wonderfully inspirational book, Just Who Will You Be? (read my full review here), and chow down on scoopfuls of Lovin' Scoopful, the new ice cream that she and her brother created (read my full review here).

You can read more about what we did and what she said here , and you can read about the stupid things that happened to me during the event here. For now I'm content to reflect upon what I thought and felt.


As I stood back and listened to her speak, my initial impression was, There you have it, The Best of America, right in front of me. Looking at her, it's impossible not to be reminded of the incredible legacy she bears; it's in her hair, in her face, in her voice, and it hits you like a punch in the face. The blood of JFK, Bobby Kennedy and Ted Kennedy runs in her veins. Her father founded the Peace Corps; her mother, the Special Olympics. She's married to a superstar and a governor. She's a famous journalist in her own right.

The only thing we have in common is our first name, Maria.

But as she spoke and answered questions, I got a little glimpse of the Maria behind all of that.

Ways Maria Shriver is not like me (besides the money, the career, the husband, the famous family):

She's punctual.
She dresses like she stepped out of Vanity Fair.
She looks like she weighs about as much as my right thigh.
She's at ease with anyone and everyone.
She finds the time to do a million things and be a million things every day.
Because she knows how to prioritize and say No.


Ways Maria Shriver is like me:

She has a hunky husband (ok, I had to write that out of loyalty; truth is, I think maybe Ahnuld might be a little bit hunkier than Alfie)
She comes from a big Catholic family.
She's a mom.
She thinks parenthood is the hardest job in the world but she doesn't want to be seen as just a mom.
She gets insecure, tired, and stressed.
She wants to make the most of her "wild and precious life".



So when it was my turn to meet her, I felt a rush of affinity. We spoke for a couple of minutes. And after it was all over, I was left with one thought: She gets what I'm going through.

Maria Shriver and I are totally soulmates!