Corpus Christi
Melissa Black is a Corpus Christi native, but if you’ve spent any time with her, you know her as Mel. Growing up, she dreamt of leaving this little Gulf city and having big adventures. She was so determined that when she was 12, she stole the family station wagon and headed out to California with twenty seven one dollar bills and a tube of red lipstick. That, readers, is a story for another day, but rest assured that she was safely home and in bed by midnight.
After high school she spent time in Northampton MA and briefly lived in the DFW area. When her father became ill, Mel moved back home to help take care of him and her three younger sisters. Just as she was planning her next escape, she met Chris, her now husband, and decided that life in the Coastal Bend wasn’t so bad.They welcomed their son Evan into the world in 2004 and his sister Tristan followed in 2010. Parenthood, it turns out, has been the ultimate adventure.
Moms
As she was figuring out motherhood, she wanted to her hang on to her pre baby identity. In 2005 she was one of four women who helped start the now defunct burlesque troupe Babes in Sin. She performed with them for almost 5 years and had lots of amazing experiences. In spite of the fun, she hung up her fringe in 2009 when she realized that Tristan was on the way.
Melissa started her professional life as an insurance agent but after 14 years she needed a change. After some though she decided to become a hairdresser. In the interim, she took a break and had the privilege of being a stay at home mom for almost two years. She loved the slow days of spending time with her kids, relished teaching her son how to walk home from school and her daughter how to write her name. It was a precious time but when her daughter began kindergarten she was ready to get back out into the world as a working mom.
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Melissa isn’t performing anymore but her husband Chris plays bass for the local band, Switchblade Jesus. He occasionally goes out of town to play shows and sometimes performs locally. The band is signed to a small independent label and Mr. Black is living out one of his passions- although he still has a day job and the regular list of Dad duties. As an added bonus, Evan thinks his dad is cool and is a budding musician.
In spite of how bohemian their life sounds, family is the most important thing to Melissa and Chris. Now that the kids are older, they are experiencing a new season where parenting is presenting a different set of challenges. They have dinner at the table at least once a week, she sits down to help with homework or projects, and they have weekly pow wows to talk about grades. Mel and Chris are trying to show their kids that they can be successful at life and still manage to live it on their own terms. To the Black family, that is the most important lesson of all.
If you are interested in joining the CCMB community of moms please join us over on our FB community group!
