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Superhero of Motherhood

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This year's winner of the Hill Country News “Best Mom Contest” doesn't consider herself anything other than an ordinary mom. She believes she is just doing her job, and she is no superhero - but that's not what her husband and children think.

Tara McAlister, 35, is a seven-year resident of Cedar Park and was named this year's “Best Mom.” She was nominated for Mother of the Year by Todd McAlister, her husband of 13 years, who thinks she is truly a “SuperMom” and wears the Superman “S” on her chest every day.

“Over the past year she has endured, she has conquered and she has set the example in our household. Though she would argue with you for hours and days that she is nothing special... she is a true hero and a truly wonderful mom, woman and friend,” Todd said in his letter to the News.

As 2007 rang in, Todd, a member of the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 28, packed his bags to get ready for his 10-month deployment to Iraq, while Tara got ready to assume the role of mother and father to their two children: Grayson, 13, and Emery, 8.

During Todd's time in Iraq, Tara's days were spent getting the kids to school, shuttling them to cheerleading events, band concerts, football and baseball games and church functions, working a full-time job with Onstad Law Firm in Lakeway, remodeling their house and going to school at St. Edward's University.

“It so wasn't that big of a deal,” said Tara. “It took some juggling, but no more than other moms do.”

Tara said she didn't do anything extraordinary and she had the support of her friends, mother and mother-in-law to help her with everything. “The goal was to interrupt things as little as possible,” said Tara.

“Each time I talked with the kids over the phone or through e-mail, they continually reassured me of the fantastic job their mother was doing,” said Todd.

Grayson, a student at Wylie Middle School in Leander, said things went on as usual while their dad was gone. “We got to school every morning, sometimes early, and I only missed one or two practices,” he said. “She really helped us when we had no dad for 10 months.”

At night, when things were quiet and everything had settled down, Tara spent the time studying and working on her degree in accounting, but even then, there were interruptions. Emery, who attends Block House Creek Elementary, said she sometimes interrupted her mom while she studied to ask for a glass of water or other things, and she always got them for her.

“She also gets us what we need,” said Emery. “She supports us and she loves us.”

Todd said there were many times when he and Tara would talk and she mentioned that she was exhausted and couldn't sleep because she was worried about him, but it never kept her down or kept her from being the best mom she could be.

After the past year, Todd could never think of Tara as anything other than the “most special mother that has ever graced the face of the earth,” which is why he nominated her for the contest. “Looking back on the past year, all that [she] endured, all that she suffered through, all that she accomplished, all that she came to do daily as commonplace, my kids are better for it all.”

Tara was unaware that her husband had nominated her for the contest and was shocked when she was told she had won. “I was really touched that he thought to do it in the first place. It's not something most husbands would think to do,” said Tara. “I was a little embarrassed [about winning] because I haven't done anything special.”

Tara graduated Summa Cum Laude on Saturday, May 3, 2008, from St. Edward's University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting.

E-mail jennifer@hillcountrynews.com

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