This week’s Meet a Mom interview is with Alyssa Simela, a new Greenwich resident and mom of one toddler. Please welcome Alyssa and read more about her, including her career in Merchandise Planning, preparing her daughter for the move, what she looks for in a mom friend and more!
Welcome to Greenwich! Can you please tell us a little bit about your family?
Thanks so much! We are really enjoying Greenwich so far. My husband’s name is Sipho and we have a 21 month old little girl named Gabriella and a 7 year old Beagle Bulldog mix named Bella.
When did you move? Why did you choose Greenwich, and your particular neighborhood?
We moved to Greenwich in November. We are currently in Byram while we are house hunting and we’ve been looking in Byram, Glenville, and Cos Cob. My husband and I both work in New York City, so we were looking for somewhere commutable to the city with good restaurants and shopping as well as a lot of activities for young children and families.
Sounds great. What do you and your husband do for work?
I am a Director of Merchandise Planning for Macy’s focusing on our women’s millennial apparel business and my husband is the CEO and Founder of a tech company called Matrix Rental Solutions.
What are you enjoying most about being in town so far?
We’ve been enjoying taking our daughter and our dog to Byram Beach on the weekends, trying different restaurants along Greenwich Ave, and exploring different areas of Greenwich as we’ve been house hunting.
What are you looking forward to most as the warmer weather comes and COVID restrictions (hopefully) continue to ease?
We can’t wait to hopefully see COVID restrictions ease and for the weather to become warmer! We are excited to go to Tod’s Point, ride the ferry to the Islands, backyard BBQ’s with friends, Byram Pool, and enjoy some cocktails outdoors!
How did you prepare your daughter for the move?
Our daughter was 16 months when we moved here, so she was young and she’s resilient. Before we moved, we brought her to our new place twice and walked all around the neighborhood. Then when we moved I made sure her room and her playroom were set up first so she had all of her toys, books, and stuffed animals out for her on day one. It was the first time she had her own play room, so she was very excited! The transition ended up being pretty easy for her.
We are still in the process of meeting people and making friends, but our nanny has been a huge help. She has met other nannies within our neighborhood and organized play dates and walks with other nannies who watch children around the same age. We also signed up for music class, swim class, gymnastics, and soccer. It has been more challenging than I anticipated to get our daughter back to being social after being in lockdown, but she’s doing much better and starting to love her classes and playdates.
That’s so great you’ve jumped into some fun activities! What do you look for in a mom friend/what makes a great mom friend?
I think just having children around the same age gives women a lot to talk about and bond over. Overall, I really enjoy meeting moms and making new mom friends. What I tend to look for in a mom friend is someone who likes being social, going to new places and trying new activities. It is nice when the kids are on the same schedule, too. Motherhood is quite the journey and having other mom friends definitely makes it easier!
