- Mom to Nina, 9, and Nya, 11; wife to Rudoff, aviation ordinanceman, petty officer first class, U.S. Navy
- Created Kids Rank
- Nominated as 2013 Military Spouse of the Year
What has been the hardest thing about being a military spouse?
For me especially, being away from our family. We are a really tight-knit family, and having to move and be isolated sometimes and having to reestablish at every turn new connections. I’m pretty social, so I do fine, I do OK but I do miss seeing my family on a regular basis (from Philadelphia). The military community, they rally, they become your family. If you reach out, you will find people.
How do you describe your parenting style?
I am pretty involved. I like to know what’s going on in their lives while they want me to. I would say I’m kind of laid back. They have one area that I am not laid back, that’s school. I’m an experience person, I like to go out and go do, so we’re pretty busy. They are my buddies, we hang out, we have movie night, our favorite shows we DVR and we’ll sit and watch them together. I’ve really enjoyed every stage. I’m pretty open and we like to have fun.
What has been your best moment as a mom?
I love to see my kids doing something that they love. They get on me because I sometimes cheer a little too loud, but I love to see when they have accomplished something and they are super excited about it. That’s the best for me. They are really great girls. I just like to see them happy.
Your worst?
For me, the toughest is when I think I have too much going on and I look back and I feel like I haven’t done what I needed to do. Or I’ve overlooked and something has fallen through the cracks (such as forgetting to sign that permission slip).
Best advice:
I have a lot of good people in my life. To be able to step back and understand that I do a lot and I sometimes have to cut myself some slack and understand that not everything is going to get done. I’m hard on myself sometimes; my mind is always racing; I’m always thinking of what I need to do next. I meditate in the morning now because I have to quiet myself, to appreciate all of the things that are happening and not worry about those things that I can’t control right now.
Making a difference
Kelcey and Rudoff Liverpool started Kids Rank as a business while
stationed in Japan. Kelsey created children’s clothing based on
their parent’s military service ribbons. Kids Rank became a
nonprofit in 2011, with the first club in Highwood, to teach and
empower military kids while instilling pride and honor.
“It’s not so much ‘woe is me, we’re military
kids.’Â These are things that will make them really successful
in life,” Liverpool says. They earn ribbons by their service
to their community and kids are the driving force behind the
club.
