Kimberly Hart is an executive in residence in the marketing department at Loyola University Maryland, where she has taught classes for the past 10 years. She’s also a Disney vacation planner, a mother and first-time author. Hart’s picture book, “You Can Like That and This,” encourages children to embrace their interests instead of feeling pressured to fit into a particular role. The story was inspired by Hart’s own experience of feeling as though she never fit neatly into one box, as well as by her mother, who modeled a life filled with numerous interests and experiences. Hart wrote the book as a lasting message for her daughter, Melody (8), and as a way to honor her mother, who has Parkinson’s disease. Hart lives in Perry Hall with her husband, Brandon Davis, and daughter.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
You wear a lot of hats as a professor, author, Disney advisor and mother, so how do you find balance and mitigate potential burnout?
I think the balance with it is knowing how much I can take on so it doesn’t become overwhelming, so that it’s just setting boundaries and accepting that, OK, I’m not going to be the top sales agent and that’s OK. I’m going to take on this many clients, and that’s what works for me and brings me joy. But I think that in terms of the secret sauce, I’m lucky that I have an atypical schedule (at Loyola) because that allows me to do some of these other things, to take my mom to doctor’s appointments, go to my daughter’s events at school.
What’s it like raising a child while also caring for your parents, one with Parkinson’s and one with dementia?
It’s not something that I would wish upon people. My advice for people in the sandwich generation is you need to take advantage of the resources that are available to you. I have a very supportive husband who is an active and involved father and partner. When I need to step in to help my parents, he steps in with our daughter without hesitation. I truly can’t imagine navigating this stage of life without having that kind of partnership and support.
One of the things that I struggle with is feeling like I’m being present with my daughter but also being pulled in this other direction with needs from my parents. For example, my mom called me over the weekend and she’s like, ‘OK, I need groceries’ because my parents can’t drive. So, even though their food is provided for them, they still need things like tissues and light bulbs in their room, things like that. It’s almost like managing another household. I haven’t cracked the code on that because there’s no way for me to divide my time up evenly.
How does your daughter, Melody, influence your writing, and how did the book influence your parenting?
Melody is a very sensitive kid. I think her emotional intelligence is a lot further along than I was at that age. She’s a person who has to really feel comfortable with something. Even with people, for example, it can take her a little while to warm up. I was writing to her, in a way, to inspire her to try different things and see what really feels good. Inevitably, being a parent, we are going to influence our kids, and the things that we like are the things that they’re going to be exposed to. For example, I play piano and I sing — I want to expose her to those things, but I don’t want her to feel pushed to do those things.
You are a Disney advisor and Disney enthusiast. So, does that role make planning your own family trips to Disney more fun?
It’s fun from the standpoint that I know a lot of things, and I know some things that aren’t as widely publicized. We’re enjoying the resorts, and we’re taking advantage of games and some of the free activities and things that they have at the resorts, which some of the nicer resorts there are quite lovely. [Disney] can be a very complicated vacation. So. I think that’s one of the advantages of being a travel advisor in this space.
Family Favorites
Disney Park: Epcot
Meal: Homemade pasta
Game: Farkle
Vacation Spot: Ireland
Restaurant: Sotto Sopra
Local Activity: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Book: “The Hotel Nantucket” by Elin Hilderbrand
