by Marc Parsont
I love the change of seasons. It’s not that I couldn’t handle California, Arizona or Florida lifestyles. I would miss the sweet touch of a frozen wind across my face or a summer thunderstorm whipping dust into mini-cyclones.
Rain, pitter-pattering down on the roof to torrential downpours flooding streets and the sun-slanted warmth of fall would be lost.
What is Spring Fever without the Spring? […]
by Julie Scagell
Image courtesy of parentsconnect.com
Surviving life as a mother of a preteen girl is not for the faint of heart. Most days, I feel like a robot mechanically repeating the same tired phrases over and over, only to be met with dramatic sighs and eye rolls. These slogans feel like rites of passage every matriarch must pass down to her offspring, sure to be met with the same indifference as the generation before.
While it is frightening to watch how effortlessly my daughter tells me EXACTLY how she is feeling every second she feels it, it got me thinking. What if I was brave enough to say what I really mean? I decided to give it a shot. […]
by Jo-Ann Rogan
There are a ton of hormones swirling around in my house. Suddenly what was once my tiny sweet smelling baby is now a 11-year-old young man with very decidedly offensive odors. The changes are coming slowly.
He is still devoid of a manly voice and beard and although the changes are subtle, they are happening. I notice he is quicker to anger than he was a year ago.
He craves more independence and I find myself constantly pulling on the reigns of the boundaries I have created at home.
One of the biggest fights we struggle with is about him wanting to be out with friends after dark. Although we live in a lovely neighborhood, we live in the city, and being a former wild child I know that nothing positive happens hanging out after dark as a preteen. […]
by Gina Broadbent
#1 – A phone call in the middle of the night is never a good thing. On a mid-September night, I fall into an easy sleep, secure in the thought that my daughter Catherine is settling into college life. A rude ring rouses me. Mother’s intuition, fueled by my overactive, overprotective gene, shoots into overdrive. I brace for bad news as my husband, Mr. Don’t Worry Be Happy, picks up the phone.
DWBH: “Hey, Catherine, how ya doing? Good. Yeah Mom’s right here.”
It’s midnight. Where did she think I’d be? At the mall? Out for cocktails? […]
by Ellie Stoneley
Photo courtesy of http://paulclarke.com
Funny old thing, time … One minute there you are with a newborn baby wondering over every minute, every detail of a new person, and then woosh – suddenly you have a three year old, grey roots in your hair and no idea where the last three years went.
In fact, it’s impossible to believe that your exuberant, fiesty, glorious small person was ever a tiny newborn, a baby crawling at the speed of lightning down the hall or a toddler wobbling along on chubby little legs, arms up in the air trying to balance.
Somehow in the wink of an eye your child has become an all-consuming, time-eating, high-speed and even more demanding individual with strong opinions on everything and an all encompassing zest for life (and love of sticks, mud and trampolines). […]
by Peggy Bodde
As our children grow up, it can sometimes feel as if they’re growing away from us. We know they need to spread their wings, find themselves, and cut the apron strings, but that doesn’t stop us from feeling a little sting the first time we realize they don’t want to be seen with us at the mall.
The separation process continues as they develop their own interests and pursuits, many times going in very different directions from the well-intentioned road map we carefully created for them.
The teen years blow in, bringing the discomfort of change we’re not ready for: a sudden disinterest in family vacations, less time with family and more time with friends, and a dislike for shared activities that were enjoyable just yesterday.
by Trisha Ladogna and Rachel Ruby
I watched Andrew Solomon’s Ted talk, “Love, No Matter What,” recently. And, it got me thinking about its relevance to stepfamilies and creating a stepfamily you love.
If you haven’t already seen it or it’s been awhile since you last watched Andrew’s talk, here it is:
http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_solomon_love_no_matter_what?language=en […]
by Melanie Elliott
Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to be an actress. I did plays in my youth with high school, community theatre and even in college. Then, in the early 90s, I moved to Chicago and got an MFA in acting.
In 2000 I started the new millennium in Los Angeles with the hopes of using my degree to succeed as an actor. I had some good auditions, did a bit of theatre, but suffice it to say, making a living as an actor in Los Angeles was not my path. I often say the best part about my LA acting career was meeting me husband. We met at an audition in 2000, got cast in the play together, our showmance became a romance, and we’ve been married a little over 11 years now. […]
by Julie Scagell
As my youngest turned 3, I was reminded that living with a toddler automatically qualifies a person for a myriad of possible career options. Whether you are a stay at home parent looking for entry back into the workforce, or a working parent looking for a career change, I am positive any brave soul who has survived toddlerhood will excel in one of the professions below.
Think of me as your underqualified high school guidance counselor, nudging you into the working world where you will be under stimulated and marginally compensated. You are welcome. […]
by Phyllis Goldberg, Ph.D., and Rosemary Lichtman, Ph.D
This year, March 20th is the first day of spring. And if that’s not enough to please you, the third annual International Day of Happiness falls on the same day. The United Nations General Assembly made it official by recognizing wellbeing as a fundamental right of people throughout the world.
Remember when Grammy Award winning musician Pharrell Williams teamed up with the UN Foundation to put some synergy in motion? The focus of the online happening was his infectious song “Happy.” You can watch funky videos from all over the world or listen to a jazz rendition.