Lindsay Davenport talks about getting Jagger to adapt to her life
Gavin Rossdale, an avid tennis enthusiast and father to Kingston, 20-months this week, gave Lindsay Davenport some valuable advice that clearly has had a lasting impact on the 31-year-old tennis pro. Although Lindsay announced her retirement shortly after learning that she was pregnant with son Jagger Jonathan, 7 ½-months, she had a change of heart once the baby arrived — and her decision to return to the game she loves meshes with Gavin’s own take on parenthood.
When [their son] Kingston was first born, [Gavin] said, ‘You’ve got two sets of parents. One set that adapts solely to the kid. You go overboard that way. The other way is you have a kid and you have them adapt to your life.’
In the olden days, they always would adapt to the adults’ life. And I think people have gone so crazy the other way. I took that to heart. I remember thinking that a lot when [Jagger] was born, ‘You can go too crazy into the kid.’ We just figured he’s going to adapt to our life and luckily he’s been very great with all the changes we’ve thrown at him.
Like most working moms, Lindsay says that at times she struggles with feelings of guilt. Her own mom, Ann, helps her to keep her perspective, however. Recalls Lindsay,
When I first came back I remember there were a few days where I was telling my mom, ‘Gosh, I feel guilty. I always serve at the end of practice, and I just have served five minutes and I’m done. I’ve got to go home. I felt bad.’ [My mom] said, ‘When you were two weeks old, I went back to work, to a full-time job. We had no money. I left the house at 8 a.m. I would drop you off at day care, work 9 to 5, pick you up at 5:30 and we’d come home.’ And I think the world of my mom. She’s the greatest person ever.
I thought, ‘Wow that puts it into perspective.’ I’m only gone three hours a day. I think every mom struggles with that in the beginning.
Jagger is the first child for Lindsay and her husband Jonathan Leach. Kingston is Gavin’s son with singer Gwen Stefani.
Source: LA Times
