admin, Author at Mothering in the Middle

Cyma Shapiro Interviews Faydra Koenig, Author of Two Homes for Daniel

Hi, Faydra – welcome to Mothering. As America’s Divorce Coach, I’m happy to be presenting you to our group and exploring your latest venture, Two Homes for Daniel – the story of a child of divorce. Please tell me what inspired you to create this book?

A: I have been writing for adults for some time now, helping them cope with the stress and guilt associated with divorce and my coaching clients have been asking for ways to help their children. I created the book to offer a conduit for mom’s, dad’s and extended family to talk with kids about the issues that come up during and after divorce. I thought about my own children and how we managed the issues when we faced them. […]

Winter Moments

by Lori Pelikan Strobel

Photo courtesy of Lori P. Strobel

I look at the pristine fallen snow and feel somewhat melancholy that there are no little footprints in the yard, no snowman or snow angels. Since I now have adult children, the snow in my yard remains fluffy.

Looking at this unspoiled snow, I notice the immense silence in the air as the downy white flakes fall. The branches look like they have been coated with powdered sugar and I feel the cold start to sneak into my bones. The only marks left in the snow are made by my dog, Louie. I see his paw prints meander throughout the yard to his special area. There, the white snow is dotted with yellow and brown. […]

Tips for Raising An Only Child (Part III)

by Serena Kirby

The single-child family is the fastest growing family unit in the developed world so you’re far from alone if you have just one child. For many of us who became mothers later in life, it wasn’t ‘choice’ but ‘circumstance’ that caused us to have just one child. Reduced fertility and increased fatigue all play a role in the high number of only children to older mothers. […]

My Journey to Motherhood Was a Battlefield

by Michelle Eisler

My journey to motherhood was a battlefield; my mothering experience has been one of joy and thankfulness.

But, in recent months there have been little cracks developing in who I am as a person (aside from being a mother). A child is an incredible gift – one that has the power to make you become acutely aware of what was tarnished, broken or missing from your own childhood.

I have learned I will never be able to be the mother I hope to be until I deal with the child I was. […]

With Age, Mercy

by Andrea Lynn

It’s January, and I’ve got a tree on my roof. I’m sure at nearly any other point of my life, this would disturb me, but I find myself with a lot of perspective these days and not much alarm. The ice storm ripped though while we were out of town and a neighbour called me with the news of the crashing tree, the 90-year old branch on my 90-year old house.

Safe at my parents’ house for the holidays, I found myself simply glad we weren’t there to deal with it. The neighbour’s husband dutifully stuck his head into my attic to see if the roof was still intact. It appeared to be holding. Good enough for me. I continued my holiday with family and came home a week later. […]

Most Delightful Quote of 2014

Dear Readers: This delightful e-mail was sent by UK-based Mothering writer Ellie Stoneley, as she sat at her computer (writing me) along with her two-year-old daughter, Hope.

“OFF TO Put HOPE WHO IS playing with mY KEYBOARD right now to BED!!! NOTE The cAPS GOING UP AND DOWN AS SHE presses tHE KEY WITH THE LIGHT ON!” XO-E

50 Is The New 40

by Maggie Lamond Simone

They say 50 is the new 40.

I’ve been hearing that more and more lately as my half-century mark is winding down its tenure. Most of my friends are saying it with a kind of trepidation in their eyes, a hopeful “please don’t freak about this – you’re not going to freak about this, are you?” sense of panic lingering just behind their encouraging smiles. Most of my friends are younger than me, because their children are friends with my children, and I started … late, let’s call it.

The truth is, I have been kind of freaking out about this. It simply doesn’t seem accurate. I remember clearly when my mom was this age, and I remember it clearly because I was pushing 30 myself. In contrast, my oldest child is pushing puberty. Our combined hormones could generate enough power to light a small town. And I’m happy when I remember his name. […]

Brain Fog and Menopause

by Rosemary Lichtman, Ph.D., and Phyllis Goldberg, Ph.D.

Jokes about menopause often get a laugh. But if you’re a woman approaching a certain age, hot flashes and memory issues aren’t so funny. It’s comforting to know that researchers are taking this seriously – a new study indicates that menopausal memory lapses are normal.

According to the results from the University of Illinois and Northwestern University, concerns about memory are not a figment of your imagination. Subjects who reported difficulties remembering did not perform as well on objective cognitive tests. And it took those who experienced more hot flashes and more negative emotions longer to solve memory problems. […]

Gray Matter

by Deatra Haime Anderson

I’m of a certain age (okay, I turned 50 last August) and have been battling gray hair for at least 10 years. It all seemed to start innocently enough … a few hairs here, a few there, and then before I knew it, it was much more than a few and I didn’t think twice about coloring it.

There are two camps when it comes to the gray hair thing: those that embrace (and rock) it and those that well … don’t. I’m definitely in the latter. I look fairly young for my age (really! I’m the lucky recipient of great genes and plumpy skin) and am sure gray hair would age me. And the thing is, I just don’t want to look older. I have a seven-year-old daughter and even though I usually am the oldest mom at the park (I once had the lovely realization that another mom was exactly half my age), I’m vain enough that I don’t want to look like the oldest mom at the park. […]

100% Responsible Mothering, But Never Alone

by Lora Freeman Williams

Image courtesy of www.artfulparent.com

I was a single parent for one month shy of four years – the first years of Isaac’s life. Prior to having a child, I’d considered getting a dog thinking I was finally ready to take on that weighty responsibility. However, just before I took that step, I took a pregnancy test. So much for the dog.

Fortunately, I had learned a vital lesson about responsibility, while in my early 20s.

I’d been floundering with an eating disorder for a five years. I’d sulked and skulked my way through college, therapy, churches, and friendships, looking for someone to rescue me from myself. I’d found no prince nor adoptive parents, and I was deeply depressed. I wanted to die. […]

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