Like many mothers of school-age children, JoAnna Garcia Swisher [Sweet Magnolias, Reba] She spends most of her time in the car. Her two daughters — Emerson, 11, and Sailor, 8, whom she shares with husband Nick Swisher — are always going somewhere. School, riding lessons, cheerleading practice (“I’m officially a cheerleading mom!” she told me on Zoom), but she doesn’t seem to mind too much. In fact, she enjoyed it.
“Honestly, this is my favorite time with my kids, and I’ve talked to a lot of parents who feel that way,” she said. “My husband takes the kids to school in the morning and I pick them up – Nick likes to get them pumped up for the day and get all their thoughts and motivations, and I get debriefings on the way home as they first start working I learned more in a few minutes in my car than anything.
So her love for this particular time and space made her recent collaboration with Kelley Blue Book (KBB) — on their list of the 12 Best Family Cars of 2024 — a no-brainer.
“[Being in the car means] There were no distractions, we were just there and it was a real good time,” she explained. (If you find your car trips aren’t that profound, don’t worry – KBB has posted “Car Pro” cards, open-ended questions for your family to discuss on your next drive. You can find them on their Instagram profile. )
These daily conversations also made the mother and actress realize that although her two daughters are only three years apart, the gap between “an 11-year-old child” and “an 8-year-old child” is huge.
“They’re all at very different stages,” she said. “I don’t know that I would be saying this a year ago… Emerson is totally in her teenage years, the conversation is different, things are changing, and really, actually…” There’s a slight pause. “I don’t know what I’m going to think about it because when they grow up, they grow up so fast. But I always wanted to think of them as my babies.
But babies can’t have the “meaningful and thoughtful” conversations that her older children can. As much as she missed that baby stage, this new stage was charming and beautiful.
“You can see her putting things together and how she sees the world. It’s really fun. … She’s really settling into this new confident little young woman, and it’s really sweet to see. I feel for her Feel very excited.
And the sailor, in the tradition of the Little Sisters, couldn’t wait to catch up.
But that’s not to say the sisters no longer have anything in common. For example, they both enjoy watching their mom’s TV shows and movies.
“What I do is very family-friendly!” she says brightly. “They watched most of sweet magnoliathey just entered Reba Because it’s on Netflix.
The face is familiar. Garcia Swisher is still close with most of the show’s cast, and her daughters grew up with them like an extended family. “They’re happy to see someone they love pampering them and loving them and seeing us together… and me having blond hair, that’s a highlight for them too.”
Next? possible are you afraid of the darkWhen Garcia Swisher took office, she was only slightly older than Emerson. Maybe they can play a few episodes together on their next road trip…
