Mothers Over 40 Archives - Page 8 of 30

A Mother’s Musings – North Star

by Judith Lee Herbert

Cobalt blue enamel sky,

diamond studded crescent moon adorn

the gold locket of my charm bracelet.

Gift from my parents when I was young,

it holds the image of my mother

as she journeys to a place

without words or memory.

Dana, my one and only Baby Buddha,

told me when she was three,

“Someday, I won’t need you anymore.”

She is eighteen; it is her time

to explore the brightness of the stars

and the vastness of the universe.

As constellations move in the night sky,

My position is shifting.

I navigate my way in space,

holding on to the sacredness of love,

my own internal North Star.

Judith Lee Herbert has returned to poetry after a successful career in another field. She graduated Cum Laude in English Literature from Columbia University. She has a daughter who is a sophomore in college, and she lives in New York City, with her husband, who writes plays. She had her daughter when she was in her 40s.

Maiden, Mother, Not Quite Crone

by Nancy LaMar Rodgers

Maiden, Mother… Whoa-Not Quite Crone

Planning to have a baby at 42 was, well, not in the plan. It happened. I thought I was in perimenopause, but alas, not so much. My daughter was nine at the time and though we had tried while she was younger, it hadn’t happened and so we were a happy family of three. I know for a fact that my son was supposed to come to me at age 42 even though I was not only unprepared, but more importantly, scared out of my wits.

Divine, Parental Intervention

I was 40 years old when we took my dad to live with us. We put an addition on the house. I should have known it would turn into a metaphor. Pops was great, but forgetful. As an only child himself and then a father of eight, he had his own ideas about family.

“You know I was thinking kid, you might want to have another, being an only child is tough.”

And with that, my guilt would swell and I would clean the house. […]

The Highs and Lows of Contemplating Midlife Pregnancy

by Michal Klau-Stevens

It’s time. You feel ready for this. You feel secure in your career, your financial situation, your relationships, and your place in life, and now you are ready to get pregnant and start your family. If you are a woman over the age of 35 and feel like you are in the prime of your life, you may be surprised to find that the maternity medical establishment may not view you in the same light. […]

Celebrating Our 4th Familyversary
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Celebrating Our 4th Familyversary

Adoption, Commentary, Daily Living, Mothers Over 40

Celebrating Our 4th Familyversary

by Melanie Elliott

I truly can’t believe it’s been 4 years since The Littlest E became our son. Where did all the time go? I’m sure most parents feel the same way when celebrating their child’s birthday, along with tremendous joy and gratitude. As an adoptive parent, I get to celebrate the birth of our son, and the birth of our family, our Family Day.

I hope I never forget what life was like before The Littlest E came home with us, so that I don’t lose the gratitude I feel everyday that I get to be his Mom. Adoption is a gift, one that I cherish with my very soul, for without that gift, my life and my husband’s life would be drastically different. […]

Getting On the Bus
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Getting On the Bus

Commentary, Daily Living, Motherhood, Mothers Over 40, Mothers Over 50

Getting On the Bus

by Maggie Lamond Simone

“So, is he ready to get on the bus?” my friend asked, knowing my son is starting kindergarten. “And, more importantly, are you?”

“He sure is, but last I checked, I’m not getting on the bus!” I laughed, fully aware of her meaning but not quite prepared to answer. What she meant, of course, was, am I ready for my son to get on the bus? And, of course, I’m not. […]

Ready for College? (Six Ways to Support and Prepare Your Child)

by KnowsyMoms

If you’ve got a teenager, then you know how baffling and beautiful they are at this tender age. You’re probably wondering how you will make it through this challenging time, and may even have concerns about whether they will ever be ready to go to college. After all, wasn’t it just yesterday that you were stressing out about whether they would ever be potty trained? As difficult as it is to fathom, the reality is that your kid will be heading off to college before you know it.

While academics are obviously important, there’s a lot about going to college that has nothing to do with school work: moving away from home, adjusting to a new environment, making healthy choices, self-advocating, managing stress, and balancing school and fun–just to name a few! […]

Seven Tips for Navigating the Adoption Process

by Michelle Eisler

Imagine putting your most treasured desire into the hands of a stranger. Someone you have neither met or seen, with the understanding that days, weeks and months may pass before you hear from them. You are constantly battling the urge to email them to see if your dream is any closer to coming true, but it’s all you can think about.

Building your family through adoption is a matter of trusting in the unknown. Whether you are a waiting parent, hoping to be selected by a potential birth mother or planning to adopt internationally, there is no easy way to make this a reality. Below is a list of suggestions on how to feel like you are making informed choices. […]

Comfort Food

by Tracy Franz

When I told a friend, a fellow American, that our family was moving to Canada from Japan, she exclaimed immediately, “Oh—they have a kind of cookie there that I like very much!”

This amused me, and then I thought later that this is also how I most often recall places I have been but do not know well.

In England, a savory pastry that you can eat with your hands as you walk through the park, trailing crumbs for gray pigeons. In France, pungent red wine (legally!) sipped from a glass in a restaurant when I was barely 12 years old. In Mexico, cheese curds—soft and fresh and salty. In Thailand, a coconut curry.

[…]

Reflections of a Stay-at-Home-Mom (SAHM)

by Melanie Elliott

I became a mom at 45. It wasn’t by design. I met my husband at 35, married at 38, and we tried to start a family six months after we married. To our surprise, that was no easy task.

After three invitros, two inseminations, a frozen embryo transfer and after mixing in four years of acupuncture, various shamans and healers, along with several miscarriages and a too-long process to adopt a baby from China, we finally became parents six ½ years later when we brought our son home from Ethiopia in August 2010. […]

Little Kids, Big Summer

by Andrea Lynn

Summer beckons, and it feels like we are making the great leap this year from the familiar to the unknown. Claire’s leaving kindergarten behind and heading to Grade 1 in September, and Anna is leaving preschool and heading for kindergarten. The summer represents the gulf between the old and the new, the last vestige of Little Kid Land before they are in school every day all day for, oh, the rest of their lives.

I suppose I’m nostalgic, but right now it feels great. Leaving the daycare (and the fees, oh the fees!) behind. Good-bye to the arcane rules of preschool, the push-pull of teachers who reject last season’s sunscreen and Anna’s favourite crocs, who dictate which cupcakes are acceptable and what toys are not allowed at Show and Tell. I know one day I’ll look back with great fondness and nostalgia, but right now I’m ready for it all to be done. I’m eager to ease up a little on the very cautious approach to early childhood education and embrace the chaos that is elementary school. […]