October 16, 2017 10:41 am Mom of the Week – Nina Lindia, An Original Voice And A Founder of PYP
What do you love to do with your children? How old are they? And what is your greatest wish for them?
We have 2 children: Francesco (“Ciccio”) age 7 and Raffaella (“Raffi”) age 4. We are happy being home with them (where they are very easy to entertain!) and getting out and about (traveling to the Carribean, or just going on bike rides in OG.) Some of my favorite weekend days turn into impromptu “happy hours” with other families, where the kids destroy the house and we grownups destroy some margaritas. My greatest wish for my children is that they one day have the relationship I have with my brother, Ryan, and that my husband has with his sister, Melissa. We love our siblings very much and feel so lucky to have them. No one makes me laugh as hard as my big brother – this might be hard to believe given how much we fought when we were 7 and 4! Back then, I was just trying to get his attention. Now… I feel like he’s proud of me all the time, and vice versa.
Who has had the biggest influence upon you?
That would have to be my parents. In their own unique ways, they’ve each managed to teach me the important lessons in life. And it was nothing they ever told me, it was all in MODELED behavior (the most enduring type of teaching, I believe.) My father survived a pediatric congenital heart defect, a heart attack at 38, and several open-heart operations. But don’t cry for him, Argentina: the man golfs 5 days a week in the summer and skis at a very elite level in the winter, at 67 years old! Far more important than what he’s capable of now, is what he was capable of when he was sick and that was a POSITIVE ATTITUDE. When I went through an illness that sidelined me for a while a couple years ago, it was his smile I plastered on my face to make my family feel better. And it made me feel better, too! In all things, a positive attitude is good medicine, and my dad taught me that.
When that same illness changed the way I looked (temporarily) it was my mother’s voice I heard when I looked in the mirror. She never placed any importance on my looks. She helped me develop the qualities that no illness can take away from you: a sense of humor, social intelligence, confidence, empathy, and resilience. She is a PhD, retired Professor of Art History (Colgate University) and is my favorite person to brag about.
What quality do you most admire in a mother?
I love a mom who tells her kids not to tattle (for example), and gives her children an opportunity to own their mistakes and learn from them. Most moms I know and love have a great sense of self-awareness, and that is an essential quality to foster in our children.
Besides motherhood, what other careers/opportunities have you enjoyed? And what are your strongest qualities?
I was Regional Director of Medical Programs at Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, and loved working with doctors and nurses in training as they prepared for the high-stakes tests that would define their career opportunities. I had to give a lot of presentations in my last role at Kaplan, and fell in love with public speaking. I really enjoy having a microphone in front of an audience, and getting my message across in a humorous and hopefully relatable way.
In early 2015, I Co-Founded Pitch Your Peers, Inc., (PYP) with three of my best friends in Greenwich (Brooke Bohnsack, Rachael LeMasters, and Dara Johnson.) We are in our second year of collective grant funding, and we’re now bicoastal, having launched a Seattle PYP chapter! For more information on our incredible members (all movers and shakers in Greenwich) and what we do, check out www.pitchyourpeers.org.
Were you happiest in elementary, middle high school or college? Please explain why.
Almost all my memories of school are happy ones, but college (Bucknell University, 2002) was another level of amazing. Not only did I receive a great education, but the friends I made in the first week of college are still my best friends today. In fact, that “Melissa” I mentioned above? She’s my husband’s sister, but also one of my best friends from college. I loved her so much I went ahead and married her brother!
What do you like to do for fun and what is your idea of a perfect day?
I love being around people, talking and laughing, and doing good work for those less fortunate. With my group of friends in Greenwich, there is ample opportunity to do so. We are all supportive of each other’s passion projects in philanthropy, and I enjoy attending all the events around town. A perfect day would be hitting up Soul Cycle or Core Pilates on the Ave, meeting a friend for a lunch meeting to talk about PYP, and picking up the kids after school for a bike ride around Tod’s Point. Even though the days with small children can seem like Groundhog Days (the same thing over and over) there is no better town to do those things in than OG!
What is one of your favorite books? Movies?
I love anything by Roald Dahl (his short stories intended for adult readers are unbelievably well-written and original; there’s nothing like them). My son and I are reading Dahl’s first autobiography, Boy, and I think he likes it even more than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In general, I prefer non-fiction. Jaws is my favorite movie of all time, followed closely by The Godfather 2 (anyone who knows me well knows I love sharks and Italy)!
What is your favorite type of food and what do you love to cook?
I have to have Pizza Post once a week. When I cook, it’s usually vegetarian. I highly recommend Green Chef for terrific organic vegetarian weeknight dinners.
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I always love a trip to Italy (I lived there as a little girl and studied abroad there twice), but a bucket list item is South Africa to get in a cage with a Great White Shark. Well, I’d prefer the shark be on the outside of the cage, but you get the idea.
Where is your favorite place to Party with Moms and what’s your drink of choice?
I am usually out 2-3 nights a week for various events, and it’s tough to pick one favorite spot. Lugano and L’escale are favorites of mine. My drink of choice would be any great Chardonnay from Putnam and Vine Wine and Spirits, and my favorite place to drink it would be on my front porch in OG.
