Cindy McKendall came to Champaign-Urbana for school, left for a job, and returned after her college sweetheart (now husband) Sean graduated and started his career locally. A Chicagoland area native, McKendall’s life now revolves around taking care of her almost 5-year-old fraternal twin daughters as well as working part-time for the University of Illinois. Conversations about race, appearance, similarities and differences are nothing unusual in the McKendall household, where mom is white and dad is black. One of the twins has blond hair, blue eyes and a light complexion; while her other twin has dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a darker complexion. The family recently moved to a new home in Champaign, giving Cindy another hobby: remodeling.
See why we think Cindy McKendall is a Chambana mom to know.
Q: How did you react when you found out you were having twins? Or was that your plan all along? 😉
Q: Your twins look like they are different races, which is unusual, and you were once featured on local television because of that. How has that affected their childhood and your life as their mom?
Q: I recently read a blog post on the New York Times website, “When Mom is Mistaken for the Nanny” which talks about the questions parents of bi-racial or different races often receive. How do you respond in those situations?
Q: You work part-time and seem to have found the right balance for you. Do you have any advice for other moms who want to work part-time?
Ask – the answer might surprise you. When I interviewed for my current job, they were looking for someone who could work full-time, in the office. At the time, my daughters were three months old, and I wasn’t willing to work full-time, and the cost of putting two babies in full-time daycare would have been prohibitive. So I asked if I could work part-time, from home. I’m still amazed that the answer was yes. I’m know that I’m very, very lucky to have the flexibility that I do, and I wish that all parents had the same options.
Do you know of a Chambana mom or dad to know? We love nominations.