{Down with Detroit}
My name is Jill Mitra and I am a stay-at-home mother of three. I moved to the Detroit area from Chicago four short years ago. I feel so blessed to live here and raise my family in such an amazing community of people. I spend my time with my three amazing kids playing, doing art, and cooking delicious food.
{My Life}
I grew up in rural Iowa with my teacher parents. My dad became a principal while I was young and ended up taking a position at the high school I graduated from. I followed high school by studying nutrition at Western Illinois University where my love of food and cooking blossomed. I began working at restaurants while attending college and after University I moved to Chicago to continue my restaurant career. Before I knew it I was the youngest Manager for a huge restaurant group in downtown Chicago. I was working at said restaurant when I met my husband who soon became a regular. He pursued me for six months before I finally agreed to a date and he has been my partner in life ever since.
My husband and I married in Chicago. At the time I was working 70 hours a week at the restaurant and having a family was the furthest thing from my mind. My husband was starting his own company and financial security seemed like a very distant light at the end of a tunnel. But surprise surprise we found out we were expecting our first child. Our baby, now 5 years old, was born in Chicago on a spectacular spring day, and our worlds were forever rocked. We stayed in our cramped apartment until she was almost 1 and I found out I was pregnant again. Instead of moving to the suburbs we opted to move to my husbands home turf in beautiful Michigan.
I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when we moved from familiar Chicago to the suburbs of Detroit. Being from out of town, I hadn’t always heard the nicest things about Detroit, but I was ready with an open mind to get to know my new city. I have never felt more at home than I do in this community. I love my new home town which fills my need for space and nature, but we are so close to vibrant down town with all the culture and benefits a big city has to offer.
One subject about my life that really impacts our family is that my husband is a recovering alcoholic. He has been sober for four years now. He took his last drink exactly one week after our daughter turned one year old and, if all goes well, our children will never see him drink again. It has been a long journey for our relationship and recovery takes hard work and dedication from both he and I. I have learned so much from, not only my husband, but the other men and women I’ve meet through AA (alcoholics anonymous). I am filled with gratitude and take things one day at a time. I look forward to sharing my experiences with others and learning more about members of this community.
{Babies + Beyond}
We now have three children, a daughter 5, son 3, and baby boy 8 months old, plus a big old dog and, if I have my way, a few chickens by the end of summer. I enjoy staying home with my kids and each day is a new adventure. We like to stay physically active through lots of outdoor play, riding bikes, and swimming. My daughter is a budding artist with a beautiful spirit and she shares my love for nature and animals. My son has enough energy to share and is a rough and tumble three year old with the most loving heart. Last, but not least, my sweet sweet baby boy is by far my most calm and happy baby, he is so friendly and smiley people are drawn to him wherever we go. I love living here and raising my kids in this community. We found our home in Clarkston and the spacious yard has been amazing. I want my kids to be unplugged and outside as much as possible. I try to use a healthy mix of attachment parenting and free range parenting to raise independent, confident, compassionate people.
