Marianne Ward has been married to Andrea Torri, for 12 years. They live in Rome, Italy and have three daughters, Vittoria (9), Cecilia (8) & Sofia (6).
(Please note that as the author of a book about kids & media I absolutely love her answer to “Who’s your favorite TV or movie star?”)
How do you enjoy spending time with your family? We love spending time on weekends and holidays on our farm in the Umbrian countryside, north of Rome. We cook, walk in the forest, garden, bike ride and make big plans for our piece of paradise.
What do you and your husband enjoy doing together? We enjoy exploring new places together—I took him and the family to India for the first time this last summer and we are all off to the Czech Republic in 2 weeks, cooking and just talking.
How do you spend your days? I get up at 0600 to walk the dog—this is my time when I speed walk with a girlfriend in a nearby historic park. Then back home by 0700 to make the lunches (pasta in the thermos and other things—remember my girls are ½ Italian, so PB&J doesn’t cut it), kids up by 0730 and off to school by 0815. We all go together and then my husband drops me off at the office. I work until about 1800 and then home to deal with the homework, finish dinner (the nanny usually starts or preps). We try to eat together at about 2000, though often Andrea comes home later. Then off to bed for the kids by 2100. And I read and then collapse by 2200—I am definitely not a night owl. (To convert the PM times, just subtract 1200–For example, 1800 means 6:00PM.)
Why do you do what you do? I do love my job as a United Nations Operations Officer. I love the way one is always learning about new countries, and trying to be as efficient as possible in ensuring humanitarian and development assistance to people who need it—it is incredibly satisfying. It still brings tears to my eyes to see some of the children in rural villages—even though after 16 years in this business I should be a hardened, jaded humanitarian aid worker. I love meeting new people, and having the privilege of understanding (as much as I can) other cultures. And I love working with people from all over the world, all with a fascinating story to tell.
What’s a job you think you might have enjoyed doing, if you had pursued a different path. Why? I think that I would have loved to run a toyshop or a bakery. I like to do things for people (like bake) and for people to be happy, and a toyshop is always a magical place (well maybe some more than others, but I think most parents know what I mean). And who knows, I might still do this. The opportunities are still endless, really.
What do you feel truly passionate about in life? My children. I live for them, and couldn’t imagine my life without them. When I travel, which is a lot lately—7 weeks in Tajikistan already this year, and Pakistan and Afghanistan in the works—I often feel almost physically sick when I am away. But skype definitely helps. I am the kids alarm clock when I am away, and I try to skype them when they get home from school, time differences and meetings permitting.
What is your favorite vacation spot? For now it is our farm, but the Amalfi coast is pretty good too.
Who’s your favorite movie or TV star? Difficult one, as we haven’t had a television for nearly 15 years.
How about your favorite movie? We recently really enjoyed Bend it Like Beckham and the Sound of Music as a family—it is a bit old, but I brought home a lot of videos from a recent trip to Pakistan, so we are catching up on all the movies we missed or never saw.
What are three to five books that you’ll always keep on your shelf?
1. My nice notebook with all of my to-do lists, as I can’t keep up with our busy life without it
2. Novels by Irving Stone—I love historically accurate novels, and his are just the best of the genre
3. House and design magazines—OK its not a book, but these for me are mind candy and help me relax, and make further plans for our homes in Rome and the stone farm house
4. The Economist—again not a book, but I don’t manage to read the paper every day, I listen to the radio and then get a bit of more in-depth commentary from the Economist. I have grown up with this news magazine and it is just the best. I can still remember the censored copies we received in Indonesia as a child, with all the articles on Indonesia carefully cut out!
5. Any book basically—the bedside tables in our family are always filled with books, any books.
What about favorite children’s books? Shel Silverstein poems, as they are so silly, and the Olivia books, because she is a pig with attitude. Most of my girlfriends know that my holiday gifts for their kids are books.
PC or Mac lover? Mac, definitely, They are so pretty, and the kids use them at school.
