Working Mom Spotlight: Patty Chandley

Name: Patty Chandley

Occupation: Environmental engineer

Number of kids: 2

Favorite candy bar: A good dark chocolate salted caramel candy bar

Tell us about your family, and what’s your childcare solution?

I am happily married with two girls ages five and eight. This is the first school year with both my girls in full-time school, which has freed my schedule up quite a bit. Prior to that, my younger daughter was in part-time preschool. I work part-time (currently around 12 hours per week) and love to volunteer, so having the girls in full-time school has given me a chance to start doing more of both.

Where do you work, and what is a typical workday like for you?  I currently work from home on an hourly basis for a large engineering consulting firm, AECOM. I have worked at this company for 19 years and have been incredibly blessed with a department manager who has supported the working moms in his group. Several of us work part-time to balance being there for our kids with working. When I had my second child, I decided it was time to really cut back on my hours so I could focus more on my family and my home. I grew up with a mom who was always at home, and I wanted to be there for my kids when they leave in the morning and when they get home from school. I wanted to chaperone the field trips and read in the classroom. I can’t wait to be able to do those things again hopefully soon!!

Share some of your goals – personal or professional.  Both personally and professionally, one of my biggest goals is to support others, especially women and children. I love connecting people to one another and helping them work together and thrive. If I see a co-worker, a family member, a friend, a fellow mom, or a child in need, I want to help them find a resource, whether it’s another person, a group (like Restored!), a book, a small business or some other tool that can help them with whatever it is they are struggling with.

What motivates you to work? How do you like to relax? I am motivated by the challenge of trying to improve a process and make things more efficient for a project team and more helpful for the client. I have worked on several projects where we are using template reports for a number of similar clients. I love making the reports easy for the writers to use and for the clients to read. Also, quite frankly, money motivates me to work. Having a little extra financial freedom to do fun things and create special memories with family and friends is a big reason why I continue to work even though I love volunteering.

I’m an extroverted introvert (I think that’s the right term for it). I value my downtime alone, but I also love my time with the people who I am truly able to be myself around. I hate small talk, but having deep conversations with the people who I love really feeds my soul. I also love music. So, I suppose going to an amazing concert with my closest friends is a perfect experience for me (especially an outdoor concert at a small venue). Or, being snuggled up on my couch with my dogs or my kids and a great book and a soft blanket.

What is your favorite part of motherhood?  

Those moments of seeing the kids truly happy or when I see them doing something kind that I didn’t even tell them to do…those are some of my favorite parts of motherhood. Also, the quiet moments of the four of us – whether it’s family movie night on the couch with popcorn or playing a game together or story time or playing in the yard. I feel guilty that we haven’t had the money or vacation time for the big family vacations like Disney or a cross country trip, but I think we can also create special memories in the small moments.

What does Restored mean to you? How has it impacted you personally?

I cannot not express enough in words what Restored means to me, particularly in the times of COVID. Parenting, being a wife, and working while trying to be a good neighbor and grow in your own faith walk are hard things to combine on a good day. But, when you add in all the craziness of the past two years, it has led to some of the hardest moments of my life. Restored has offered me a light in some really dark times. I will forever be thankful for the people that I have met and the things I have learned through Restored (I was just telling a good friend all the cool things about Enneagram and many of my points came from that Table Talk). I’ve also been given some great tools and information for facing so many of the challenges that are going on in my life right now. I cannot recommend enough to other working moms what a fantastic resource Restored is.

What is one of your favorite Restored events to date? Why is it your favorite?

For in-person, they have all been fantastic, but I think the Summer Soiree at Greenhouse Picker Sisters was one of my favorites. It was at a time where in-person events were few and far between. But Stephanie thought outside the box, and came up with a way to have an event where we could feel safe but connected. I tend to be on the quieter side, but that night I was so excited to see moms I had only seen on the computer screen, and I just could not seem to stop chattering on excitedly. And then of course, the online Bible studies have a special place in my heart too since it fostered an incredible connection with some ladies who have a special place in my heart.

Can you share how you overcome challenges related to the “mom chaos” that settles in when you feel pulled in 100 directions?

Lists! When I feel overwhelmed, it helps me to write things down either on paper or in my phone. I have this app called Paperless that allows you to make checklists and move things around on the lists. It’s where I keep my to do list, shopping lists, packing lists, etc. I’m running in so many different directions these days that if I don’t write it down somewhere, I will forget it. I also am a dinosaur and still love a paper planner. So, if there are certain errands or things I need to get done that week, I include them in the notes section for that week so I keep them on my mind whenever I’m looking at the calendar.

Besides your faith and family, what are you passionate about?

One year for my birthday, I got a tattoo. It is based on 1 Corinthians 13:13 – “Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” There is a cross for faith, an anchor for hope, and a heart for love. I have it to remind me that those are the three most important things in my life. I’m passionate about a lot of things, but at the root of all of it is faith, hope, and love. If I get one more tattoo, it will be some type of symbol for agape love because I want to be reminded to love others selflessly like Jesus.