Latoya Polk is the executive chef of Toffee Culinary Company. She’s been married for 16 years to Samuel, a middle school math teacher and CEO of S.O.S. Security. The couple shares an urban farm in Fort Worth with their six kids—Jair, 15; Samaira, 14; Bryce, 8; Japhia, 6; Joshua, 5; and Azaliah, 3—plus six chickens, two dogs and two cats.
5:08AM The rooster (“Big Red”) is crowing, and I wake up only to look at the time and go back to sleep. I let my second alarm do its job.
6:20AM I’m awakened by a light because my husband is up waking all of the children with his deep-toned voice: “Time to get up!”
6:45AM I’m dressed and greeted by the three amigos—Bryce, Japhia and Joshua—who are usually “sick,” had a nightmare or don’t want to go to school. Some mornings are all smiles and excitement, but lately it’s been rough so I count it a blessing that everyone is excited and dressed.
7:10AM I am trying to wake our toddler, who wants to sleep in, but as we gather her up she is bouncy and happy too. Our oldest two have made it downstairs in their polished uniforms. My daughter goes to an all-girls school and has to wear “full prep” as I call it, and my son, a freshman, wears whatever he wants. He is, let’s just say, enjoying his self-expression. Some days you have to just let them be themselves—a wrinkle or two never hurt anyone.
7:20AM The boys help feed the animals and give them all water. It sounds simple, but usually there is some newfound issue—either the chickens are out of the run, or one of the dogs has attacked a chicken, or the dogs have torn up the chair cushions, or another dog has gotten into our yard … Thank God, today all the animals are where they belong.
7:30AM We are off to three different schools. My husband takes our son the high schooler, and I take the elementary and middle schoolers.
7:55AM I’m back home and back to work. My baby girl has to have Mickey Mouse every morning, so I give her a dose of the Mickster while I organize work, make calls, send emails and update social media pages for my business. I send an email to my marketing manager to update flyers for our cooking class and to contact organizations that have asked for classes at their locations.
8:30AM Time for outdoor activities. We check on the animals and water plants.
9AM A client stops by to pick up a smoothie, like she does every morning. She likes that I live close and wants to support my business versus going to the high-price juice companies.
9:30AM I’m in the lab—my kitchen—meal prepping for family and clients while Azaliah does her computer lesson.
10:45AM All prep is complete, veggies are cut and washed, and biscuit dough is ready and wrapped for finishing at a later time.
11:30AM Lunch. Nothing extravagant: a salad, a few tortilla chips and an apple. Sometimes it’s just a stale chicken nugget from my daughter’s plate or a half-eaten sandwich.
12:30PM Clean up, do laundry, finish dinner and do my business follow-up. Once baby is down for her nap, I can rest … maybe.
2:30PM As this is the official end of my workday, I am pushing and pulling all loose ends possible so that by the weekend I can have a clear head for each event. My classes are scheduled, and my menus are complete.
3:30PM Pickup line for the elementary kids. The kids pile in, and they sporadically begin talking about their day. My youngest son is so tired he dozes off before we can make it home.
4PM We are home. I receive a text from my oldest that he is going to the Boys and Girls Club to study and play ball. I then get a text from my daughter with the details of her volleyball game.
4:30PM All three kids need help with homework, and I manage to get all the kids working while I get organized.
5PM Dinner is heated, and I am trying to get the kids to eat before we leave. When my husband comes home, he collapses on the couch to help with homework too.
6PM We head out for my daughter’s volleyball game at a nearby high school. We enjoy the festivities, her team wins and we pack it all up and head home.
7:30PM The kids eat dessert, get bathed and brush teeth. As we finish this, we tell the kids to read before bed and we pray together.
8:45PM I’m finally able to sit with my husband. We chat about the values of the day, good and bad, discuss plans and share a few laughs at a TV show we manage to catch.
10:30PM My husband checks into the bedroom before me. I am still up with my computer and tea trying to complete my work from the day.
12AM Ready to hit the bed. I check on my kids and then stay up in bed reading until my body says enough is enough.
Diaries are penned by moms (and dads) in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The authors volunteer to share a day of their choosing and are not paid or endorsed by DFWChild. Send your diary to editorial@dfwchild.com. All submissions are subject to editing and may be cut for space.
