ALL MY CHILDREN's Amelia Heinle (Mia) may have been only 23 years old when she gave birth to her son, August, but becoming a mom at such a young age immediately made the Arizona native wise beyond her years. "Having a kid is the ultimate thing that you can do, but it just changes your life," she shares. "Your priorities are in such different places, and sometimes it's really hard. You are responsible for this life, and [you hope you don't] make the wrong decision. You wonder, 'How am I affecting him by doing this or that?' It's all the time: every day and every minute. You never have a break from being worried."
Lucky Break
Making sure she can provide for August, says Heinle, is one of the things she worries about, and a major reason why she's on AMC. "I need a steady paycheck, and if I didn't have him, I'd probably be off doing something totally different," she explains. "But I ended up here, and I'm very happy."
Having a career and being a parent isn't always easy, but Heinle gives credit to her loved ones for helping her out. "It's not as hard as it could be because I have my family to watch him [when I'm at work], so I'm actually very lucky," she admits. "If I didn't, I think it would be really difficult."
Reading Between The Lines
When she isn't playing unlucky-in-love Mia, the actress says that she loves spending time with August by going outside and taking a walk. "Right now, our time together is so limited that basically, if I can see him before he goes to bed, it's really nice," she explains. "And I love to read with him. He just learned this year. It's a huge turning point, and I'm just blown away by that. I want to remember him sitting here reading to me." As she thinks about her son's latest accomplishment, Heinle adds: "When kids sound out the words with their little voices, it's so cute. And if they get the word wrong, it's really cute!"
Steady As She Goes
Although Heinle points out that she'll probably never stop questioning herself as a parent, she's come to realize that she's done a darn good job thus far. "I thank God that August is really well. He's growing into such a great boy," she shares. "It's not [necessarily] because of me, but there's a lot of things that could go wrong, and somehow he stays on the straight and narrow."
— Colleen Humes
Amelia Heinle
