Kim was actually in my graduating high school class, and she’s one of the very few who started a family as early as I did — having her daughter mere months after I had Noah. We were both nice, well-behaved girls — not “the type” that you’d expect to be a stereotypical young mom — so I’ve felt a slight kinship to her. A gratefulness to not be the only one.

Although we weren’t close friends back in my Dark Days of high school, I find myself rooting for her from a distance — especially with her growing business.

Kim moved from New York to Alabama for her husband’s job, and ended up being a stay-at-home mom (not working for the first time since she was 15 years old) in a state where she knew no one. To fill her free time, Kim started refurnishing her own furniture — scouring thrift stores and learning new techniques — unknowingly putting the wheels in motion for an unexpected career.

Now Kim has a three-part business: an Etsy shop (that I love!), a local home decor vendor spot in Georgia, and a furniture refinishing business for clients called Lilson, Inc.

Yet another example of motherhood driving our talents, our ambitions, in ways we never expected.

And of course she’s also a young mom with an adorable family — the kind that disproves any preconceived stereotypes of “early” parenting.

Help support another hard-working, goal-oriented, immeasurably talented young mom by shopping at her Etsy shop or by contacting Lilson, Inc.