The more, the merrier! Jennifer Lawrence’s mom, Karen Lawrence, loves the idea of adding more grandchildren to her family.
“I can’t wait,” the founder of Camp Hi-Ho told Us Weekly exclusively on Tuesday, March 24, while promoting her feature in Operation Parent’s educational video focusing on childhood anxiety and informing parents about positive coping mechanisms to help their children as part of their 21st Century Prevention Project. “I don’t think that a grandmother could have too many!”
Karen, who is also mom of sons Blaine and Ben Lawrence, admitted to Us, “I wish I could have been the kind of mother that I am a grandmother because I love them so much more. I have nothing but time for them.”
While the University of Louisville graduate has not been able to see the little ones much during the coronavirus pandemic — except for family FaceTime calls — they are staying “relaxed and peaceful and happy” during this time.
“I think if we can reign in our own anxiety as parents and grandparents that our children will follow on our cue,” the former cheerleader noted. “My grandchildren are sending me videos every day that are hysterically funny. … I think we all need to laughter during a time like this. We all have so much to be anxious about, but we also have so much to be thankful for and I’m always a big believer in trying to figure out the lessons from this.”
As a formerly anxious child herself, Karen has “learned a lot” since starting her play-focused camp in Louisville, Kentucky, where campers can spend time in the summer fishing, swimming, horseback riding, making arts and crafts, boating in the lake and playing with animals in their pet barn.
“It really wasn’t even spoken about so much when I was raising my own children,” she admitted of anxiety. “I wish that I had been more sympathetic instead of sometimes [saying], ‘Suck it up. You’re not not gonna go to school today just because you have a stomachache.’ Those things were real. Those stomachaches were real. … It was school anxiety, it was childhood anxiety, and I feel like I made a lot of mistakes in not acknowledging that.”
Karen did push her three kids to “find something [they] love” and pursue that. Jennifer, 29, was spotted by a talent scout at 14 and went on to become 2015’s highest-paid actress.
In February 2019, the Silver Linings Playbook star got engaged to art gallery director Cooke Maroney. She and the Vermont native, 35, tied the knot in Rhode Island eight months later.
Operation Parent is a national organization that provides parents of elementary, middle and high school aged children with resources and services that raise awareness and educate parents on today’s toughest teen and preteen issues including technology, drugs, mental health issues, dating and relationships and risky behaviors.
With reporting by Carly Sloane
