Meet Molly Hardy | Mah Jongg Teacher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Molly Hardy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Molly, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Having 3 kids (ages 9, 6 and 4), work life balance is always at the forefront of my mind. When I decided to start teaching Mah Jong, I wasn’t sure how often I would be teaching or how many hours I would be committing. The first year of teaching, I taught whenever and wherever I could! This meant a lot of evenings away from my husband and kids, but it was worth it. My husband, Will is incredibly supportive and stepped in with dinner and bedtime duties many times. While teaching, I was able to connect with so many people and got more Mah Jong teaching jobs through good old fashion word of mouth. After putting in many evenings, I am now able to have more work life balance by only having a couple evenings a week available for teaching and more daytime sessions open.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Both my undergrad degree and Masters are in Education. I shifted these degrees from being a 2nd grade teacher to being a Mah Jongg teacher. I am most excited about teaching this complicated game in a way that is easy to understand. There are many layers to Mah Jong but anyone can start! This past spring I competed in my first Mah Jongg Tournament in New Orleans. I played with women who have been playing this game for 50 plus years. They were incredible and I learned so much while playing those 3 days. After this experience, I feel like I can help organizations play in a more ‘official’ way.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I am a mom of 3 young kids so all restaurants would need to be kid friendly! I think Tex Mex is a must for visitors and Odelay’s is a great new place with a casual atmosphere and delicious food. The kids love a trolley ride uptown and stopping at Clyde Warren Park for running around and food trucks. If we got a sitter, we love DL Macks, R&D, and Sister. We love restaurants that are consistent with friendly service.
During the day we would swing by Ritual 1 for a sweaty yoga or sculpt class. It’s a studio on Travis Street that has high energy workout classes in a heated room with motivating music.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Big shout out to my husband Will for supporting me by keeping things at home sane. A shoutout to the Mahjong Line ladies, Kate and Annie for lots of support with teaching this wonderful game. A shoutout to Jodie Hastings and the Slate. It’s an incredible work space with owners who cheer on and believe in wonderful companies. I hosted my first Mah Jongg game night/tournament there and we had a blast with 48 players.

Instagram: @mahjongmolly

Image Credits
Pictures at the Slate