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Deb Shoman-Young

@debyo74

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Wife,Mom,Aunt,Daughter,Sister,& Friend. I LOVE big! I'm LOUD! I LOVE my country 🇺🇸! I'm RIDICLOUS! I'm FUNNY! Mostly I'm GRATEFUL! #DebYo

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We’re so busy making sure no child gets left behind that I wonder if anyone’s noticed the ones hitting the ceiling.

June 15, 2014. Chicago.

We lived in Chicago that summer while Marty worked out of his office there. The girls and I spent our days exploring the city. Sydney and Peyton always carried little notebooks to write and draw in. This particular day, we were at an art show, and they were taking notes about the artwork they liked. Nobody asked them to. There wasn’t a test afterward. They were just curious.

Fast forward 12 years.

Everyone is debating K-8 schools, boundaries, enrollment numbers, and everything else. And I’m over here wondering what we’re doing for the kids who are already excelling. The academically gifted kids. The artistically talented kids. The kids who love learning and are ready for more.

We spend SO much time and energy on assessments, test scores, and benchmarks. Assessment after assessment. Month after month. Tests that have little or nothing to do with the actual coursework kids are doing in their classrooms.

At what point are we spending more time testing kids than actually teaching them? And what are we missing while we’re so busy measuring everything?

Their interests. Their passions. Their curiosity. The things that actually make them WANT to show up and learn.

I’m not saying assessments don’t have a place. But good grief, can we talk about what we’re sacrificing to make room for all this ridiculous amount of testing?

I’ve spent a LOT of years in our schools, and I’ve seen some incredible teachers do incredible things. I just wonder what our kids could accomplish if we spent as much time encouraging their curiosity as we do measuring their ability to take a test. by @debyo74

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a day ago

2015 ➡️ 2026

11 years between these two pictures, and I’m not entirely sure how the hell that happened.

I blinked, and here we are. by @debyo74

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5 days ago

September 22, 2018. Whistler, Canada. 🇨🇦

Company retreat, fanny pack, PSL. Clearly this fall energy is not new. 😂

Happy fall, y’all. 🍂☕️ by @debyo74

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24 days ago

It’s Chef Appreciation Week, and I’m so thankful for the chefs and mentors who have been part of Sydney’s journey.

Chef Vinny, Chef Tony, Chef Paula, Chefs René and Vanessa Marquis, Chef Thrash, Chef Blanchette, and everyone else involved with ACF Tampa Bay … thank you!

There are way too many of you to list, but please know I see you, I appreciate you, and I am so incredibly thankful for the role you’ve played in Sydney’s journey.

The community you have surrounded my girl with is unlike anything I ever imagined was possible. Your willingness to pour into the next generation, share what you know and give your time so freely means more than you can ever know.

You taught her how to stand in front of a room of chefs and speak with confidence. You worked beside her on knife skills, baking, plating, seasoning and technique. You told her when something needed more salt, more acid, a different approach or simply more practice. And you always told her why.

You didn’t just pat her on the back and tell her, “Great job.”

Thank you for that.

You gave her honest feedback. You told her what she could do better, showed her how to do it better and gave her the opportunity to try again.

Some people might hear that as criticism. Sydney never did.

She listened. She watched. She asked questions. She took it all in. She knew that every person who showed up in a white coat had something they could teach her that would make her better.

Over and over, she showed up.

And so did you.

Sydney started with a dream when she was a tiny girl, and all of you helped make that dream possible.

She is now in her second week at CIA, thriving, thankful and ready to keep doing the hard work.

She did not get here alone.

From the core of my heart … thank you.

I appreciate every single one of you. ❤️ by @debyo74

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a month ago

Junior year HOCO. 🫶🏼

The rain stopped just in time for us to snap some pictures and we were out the door.

We told her we could go ANYWHERE for dinner. Legit anywhere. In true Peytie fashion, she chose Taco Bell. 😂

So she ate Taco Bell in the car in her corset dress, took pictures on the dock, got some with Din-Din and Papa, gave us several very appropriate family photo options and then headed off to do junior year homecoming things.

Thank you @nikkisglitzandglamboutique for always making sure my girl looks amazing. 🖤

In the meantime, I’ll be over here eating my good ice like it’s a food group, unpacking, doing laundry and repacking.

Junior year … How did we get here already? 😭 by @debyo74

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a month ago

Sydney’s second day at The Culinary Institute of America. Today was day three. There is A LOT happening right now, and I’m just trying to keep up. 😂

Somehow, after all the planning, dreaming, working, competing, volunteering, learning, networking and preparing, we are actually here.

For years, I’ve thought of everything we were doing as building runway before the plane ever took off. Piece by piece. Opportunity by opportunity. Relationship by relationship.

We built the runway.

And this week, the plane took off.

That’s the part that is hitting me now. My job was never to fly it for her. It was to help make sure she had enough runway to get off the ground. Now I get to stand back, watch her fly and probably text her entirely too much from Florida. 😂

Three days in, and I already know she is exactly where she is supposed to be.

Go get ’em, Girl.

I am ridiculously proud of you and so honored that I got to help build the runway. ❤️ by @debyo74

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a month ago

Now that Syd is at CIA and Peyton is only in school part time thanks to dual enrollment, I apparently have some time to volunteer.

Ok, I don’t really have time. 😂

But I did officially join the Tarpon Springs Women’s Club and had such a fun time at the Membership Tea at Cypress Run yesterday.

I also somehow managed to make it through the entire event without crying about the fact that my eldest daughter is still 10 states away, so I’m calling that a win. 😂

I’m looking forward to getting more involved in a community I already love so much.

Coming up: Honor Flight, Trunk or Treat for kids in wheelchairs, and apparently learning Mahjong. 😂 by @debyo74

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a month ago

We got to New York Tuesday night and moved Sydney into her dorm on Thursday, which also happened to be my birthday. ❤️

And I don’t think I have fully comprehended yet that only 3 of us are getting on that Delta flight tomorrow instead of the 4 who came up here.

My daughter. My miracle baby. The little girl who has wanted to be a chef since she could walk is at the freaking CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA. ❤️

She had a dream. Then she started putting the pieces in place. One thing at a time. And somewhere along the way, she built herself a pretty damn solid foundation.

Over the next 3 years, most of her time will be spent here at CIA in Hyde Park, NY, earning her BBA in Food Business Management with a Culinary Arts focus.

She’ll also spend 15 weeks at CIA Greystone in Napa for her Advanced Wine, Beverage & Hospitality concentration, and by then she’ll be well into her sommelier journey.

Another 15 weeks will be spent completing her externship, which, if everything goes according to her plan, will take her to Sweden and into a Michelin-level kitchen.

Because apparently CIA alone wasn’t enough. 😂

She is also planning to earn her Certified Culinarian credential through ACF.

And then there’s SkillsUSA.

She already has 2 Florida state gold medals. Now she wants a New York one to match. 😂

My girl has BIG dreams. And goals. Lots and lots of goals.

But the thing is, she doesn’t just talk about them.

She makes a plan and goes after them.

And yes, I’m writing all of this down because one day I fully intend to look back at this post and say… yep. She did it. All of it.

I know she is going to do amazing things in this next chapter.

She is ready.

Me getting on that Delta flight tomorrow without her?

I’m not ready.

But I am ridiculously proud. 😭❤️ taken in The Culinary Institute of America by @debyo74

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a month ago

The next 25 days are going to be absolute chaos. There will be tears. There will be stress. I will 100% be an emotional train wreck.

Because life is not always as perfect as social media makes it look. When shit gets hard … I look around. There is always something to be grateful for.

Right now, I’m extra thankful for the greatest family in the world, the people at my table, my village, and pumpkin spice lattes. Yes, I know how much shit is in them. No, I do not care. Don’t judge me.

My family and my people just keep showing up. Checking in. Making me laugh. Getting me out of the house. Pizza, protein shakes, boat adventures, coffee, lunch, cookies and messages filled with love. ❤️

And then there’s my plethora of rescue animals, making sure I never have to spiral alone. 🐶🐶🐈🐈🐈

And my bestie of 37 years just happens to be in town from Virginia for an extended trip right as we head into all of this.

That’s what I like to call a God wink.

I have really, really, really good people. ❤️ by @debyo74

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2 months ago

She said YES to the dress! 🥹😍

Peytie’s HOCO 2026 dress is officially checked off the list, and it could not be more perfect for her.

Thank you @nikkisglitzandglamboutique for making sure my girl sparkles. ✨🖤 by @debyo74

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2 months ago

First day of junior year for Peytie, finishing up her Cambridge diploma and starting college classes.

Left early enough for a Dunkin fun drink. Hopefully Mr. Priddy has her coaster waiting so she doesn’t leave a ring on her desk. 😂

How we got here this fast, I have no idea. 🥹💗 by @debyo74

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2 months ago

Maiden voyage.

10/10.

Beautiful weather, even better company.

One of the MANY reasons I love where we live.

Maybe tomorrow our kids can find some time in their busy schedules to join us. 😂🙄 by @debyo74

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2 months ago