Tracy Moore on embracing our Awesomeness

Welcome to our third installment of Being Canadian. We are proud to share our recent interview with Canadian celebrity, host of Cityline, Canada’s longest running lifestyle show, Tracy Moore. This Toronto born and raised mom of two shares her views on what Being Canadian means to her:

 

How many kids do you have?

I have two kids; Sidney (son) 4 and Eva (daughter) 2.

 

What does being Canadian mean to you?

I personally think we’re in the best country in the world for a few reasons; political stability, we tend to get along for the most part and Canada’s a wealthy country. I’m not trying to say there are people who are not living at or below the poverty line, but there’s a social network in place so that those who are at the top of the socio-economic ladder give back to the community. We understand that healthcare should be universal and post secondary education should be universal. The fact that we as Canadians see helping people out, is an important thing.

 

What is your favourite thing about being Canadian?

My favourite thing about being Canadian is the same as my least favourite thing: politeness. I think it is just amazing. I recently spent the weekend in New York. You don’t realize how Canadian you are until you are outside of Canada. Manners seem to be engrained into the social culture of Canada. I love that. It would be really great if my kids got straight A’s but if my kids have good manners I’d be happy. You still get the people who don’t open doors for you at the Eaton Centre but overall, being polite is part of being Canadian.

On the other hand, I just hate that we’re TOO polite. We have a hard time standing in our own success and owning our own success. I think part of the reason is that we’re a little shy to embrace everything that is amazing about us. I don’t think it’s conceited to pat yourself on the back and say as a nation we’re pretty damn cool.

 

How do you manage to juggle your work and family life?

There is no magic formula. anyone who asks me knows I’m a complete mess. I’m okay with that. Your expectations are that everything is going to be balanced between career and family life, there is no magic formula. I was spending all weekend cleaning after having two kids. Thank goodness we’re in a position to hire someone to help us with the cleaning. My husband is a co-parent, not just a dude who pays the bills and drives us around. He is doing things like changing diapers, cutting nails, washing hair and cooking dinner. We really have a division of labour that works out. We both parent 50% of the time. I don’t think I could be this committed to hosting Cityline and MC’ing events, if it wasn’t for the fact that I have this amazing partner.

There was always this sort of agreement that parenting would be handled by the both of us. My husband tries to correct the mistakes his parents made with him by being a super dad.

 

What is one thing Canadian women do not do enough of, in your opinion?

I don’t think we embrace our success enough. Canadian women need to have Canadian role models. We don’t build up our own people here in canada. People get recognized in Canada after they get recognized in the U.S. We have some really strong, bright, intelligent, good women in Canada, and we’re not holding them up as role models when we should be. We need to be okay with our successes. We need to start by claiming the credit for our own success.

 

What really helps you get through your days?

Wine. paper towels, a lot of them. I generally have a really good outlook on things, part of that is that I get up every day to work out. I do it for my mental health. I’ve been down and out, I’ve had postpartum depression and what helps me stay even keel is to get my sweat on once a day, I get a good workout in before anyone wakes up in my house. I feel ready to tackle the day, I’m in a good mood. There’s some kind of drug at play when you’re working out, I need that to get through my day.

As a television figure, many people see you as a supermom with some sort of magic formula for holding it all together. What would you say to those people?

I would say there is no formula for sure. Lowering my expectations has been really liberating. I don’t expect a perfect day, my idea of perfect is I got through the day; I got some calories in my kid’s bellies, I sweat, I read a book, have a good conversation with my husband if even it’s 15 minutes, I get to bed at a reasonable hour and have a good connection with my audience. That takes a lot of pressure off of me. I feel like women do other women a real disservice by hitting all their life’s goals.  Life’s about connecting as many moments of joy together each day as I can. A good tickle fest with my kids, all of these things make my life good. Look up the definition of success, it may not be what you see but for me it’s not about being perfect.

I tell the audience everyday that they’re so gracious and happy. I can’t take credit for everything. I barely comb my hair, someone does my hair, does my makeup, someone puts together my entire look. I’ve done nothing to contribute to the facade you see on television. When I get home, I take off my eyelashes, and heels and change into my track suit. I do the dishes, and am making lunches.  I can’t even take credit for how I look at the show.

Tracy Moore is as real is it gets. This thirty-eight year old bombshell is down to earth, real and comfortable in her own skin. She embodies the spirit of Being Canadian.

 

Be sure to tune in to Cityline across the country every morning at 9am on City. 10am in Montreal.

What does being Canadian mean to you? If you would like to share your story of what being Canadian means to you, or that of what it means to someone you know, send us an email at editor@fariha.happilyhafsawebsite.com I’d love to hear from you. If your story is selected, it will be featured right here on our Being Canadian panel.