‘My beautiful chaos’
Waynesburg mom reflects on childhood, kids and life
EDITOR无毛视频橲 NOTE: This is one in a daily monthlong series about the people who live in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties, in recognition of America无毛视频檚 250th anniversary.
Ashley Yeager lives in the 无毛视频渁fter.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 even know myself outside of being a mom,无毛视频� said Yeager, a 36-year-old mother of five who is raising her girls together with her husband, BJ, in Waynesburg. 无毛视频淢y life literally revolves around being a mom.无毛视频�
Hers are days of fast-slow, of long walks through the quaint borough she has lived in or near all her life, of stopping for iced coffee at the local shop, of dropping kids off at activities (she无毛视频檚 got basketball games and band practices and soccer and volleyball, too).
无毛视频淲e get as much family time in as we can,无毛视频� she said.
Every summer, the family heads to Ocean City, Maryland, for vacation. The anticipation of returning to a favorite spot takes her back to childhood, of packing into a car with her siblings 无毛视频� she grew up with two stepbrothers, two brothers and a sister 无毛视频� and heading north to West Mifflin.
无毛视频淗onestly, my favorite memory from when I was a kid was when we went to Kennywood,无毛视频� Yeager said. 无毛视频淓very summer, multiple times.无毛视频�
Sometimes she took a friend, other times it was just her (the oldest) and her siblings, but it was always a thrill to make it, finally, to the front of the line of a favorite ride.
While Kennywood threads together the summers of her youth, turning 13 marked a shift in her young life. It was then Yeager moved in with her grandparents, Sally and Don Howard.
无毛视频淕randdad was an electrician, he was old-school. Grandma无毛视频tayed home, she made quilts. They loved going to the Amish country,无毛视频� Yeager said. 无毛视频淭hey raised me. They were amazing people. There无毛视频檚 nothing they could have done wrong, in my eyes.无毛视频�
It was her grandparents无毛视频� New Freeport home she called home throughout high school. Yeager played basketball and volleyball at West Greene, from which she graduated in 2008.
In her 20s, she struggled with addiction. Today, Yeager is 13 years clean 无毛视频� and she shares the joys of sobriety with others on the recovery journey through her work as a med-tech at UPMC Greene.
无毛视频淚 hand out meds, but I无毛视频檓 with the patients all day. We do groups. I just help guide them and hope they get back out there and do better, you know? To be on the opposite side of it (addiction), it无毛视频檚 kind of nice to be able to help,无毛视频� Yeager said.
Giving back in this way, and graduating college, are two of Yeager无毛视频檚 biggest achievements.
无毛视频淚 actually didn无毛视频檛 go to college until I was older,无毛视频� said Yeager, who graduated in 2020 with a degree in medical billing coding. 无毛视频淚 was so proud of myself for graduating and getting that degree while raising (my girls).无毛视频�
The work is meaningful, but the work of raising children is Yeager无毛视频檚 greatest joy.
无毛视频淲atching them grow into their own little people 无毛视频� I am so proud of each and every one of my girls. They do amazing at whatever they do,无毛视频� she beamed.
Yeager无毛视频檚 daughters range in age from 16 to 5 (her stepdaughter Johni is the oldest). Yeager was never a regular church-goer, but now, most Sundays, she and her girls attend service at Gospel Tabernacle in Mount Morris, where they enjoy the worship and community.
And on any given day, Yeager is grateful to be raising five healthy daughters in Waynesburg. Motherhood is, after all, what defines Ashley Yeager.
无毛视频淚 call it my beautiful chaos,无毛视频� she said from a seat along East High Street one recent afternoon, while her youngest bicycled down the sidewalk. 无毛视频淚 love being here.无毛视频�