MotheringintheMiddle.com Archives - Page 4 of 25

Interview with Josie Iselin, Author of Heart Stones and Sea Glass Hearts

by Cyma Shapiro

Dear Reader: Heart Stones is my most favorite Valentine’s Day book, ever. I own and have given several of Josie’s books for presents. MitM is honored to feature her, for Valentine’s Day.

Q: Josie, your first book is called Loving Blind/Seeing Red: A Mother’s Decade. It features a series of images with connecting anecdotes about life with small kids which was inspired by your earliest path through motherhood. As the mother of three children, now ranging in age from 15 to 20, they appear to be your driving force, motivation and inspiration. Please tell me more about your journey with them and how it has contributed to your finding your life’s work.

I had my first baby (20 years ago nearly today in fact!) at midwinter break in the second of three years of an MFA program and when done, I thought I would be teaching pretty consistently. But teaching in the arts is initially a transient thing…The reality was that the best economic model for our family was for me to be home with the kids…and it was a gift to us as a family and to me as an artist. My studio is just downstairs (through the backyard) from the kitchen and my work and life are intertwined, physically as well as psychically. My kids and my husband always inspire me to do better work. […]

A Valentine’s Tradition

by Maggie Lamond Simone

Gather ’round, kids. Our very favorite holiday, Valentine’s Day, is fast approaching. It’s the one day we are allowed to blatantly display our love for each other, and every year Auntie Maggie takes particular delight in sharing the special story of this most romantic time. Yes, Auntie Maggie has an issue or two. […]

It’s My Birth Date And I’ll Lie If I Want To…

by Ramona Duoba

Image courtesy of wmphoenixopen.com

If turning 50 wasn’t bad enough I have a daughter who has taken a keen interest in my age. It’s probably because she doesn’t know how old I really am.

Being obsessed with aging or anti-aging is a way of life for many women, but has the obsession gone too far when you can’t be truthful with your own daughter? I suppose many people would say I’m setting her up, or that my inability to tell the truth about my age is an example of self-loathing or some deep-rooted trauma that I haven’t come to terms with. It’s not. I just don’t like aging. It’s that simple. There’s nothing wonderful about looking at a passport photo from 10 years ago and comparing it to the one I have today. There’s a harsh difference. […]

“Mr. Midlife Mom” It Is, To You!

by Marc Parsont

Please welcome our first regular “Mr. Mom,” stay-at-home-midlife-father-contributor. His perspective will be most welcome!

Dear Reader: It’s 5:30 a.m. and my son wet his bed. Since I was up, I set a camera to record my daughter sleeping to see if she has apnea and following this lead in will try and learn Quick Books in time for our taxes, all the while hoping, no praying that the dog won’t bark and that I’ll remember to turn off my alarm before waking, you guessed it—my wife.

As a “Mr. Mom,” I thought that writing on a midlife mothers site would be daunting. Women writers, and midlife mothers, in general, have me at a general disadvantage. My experiences, while similar, can only skim the surface. Since I’ve been asked to present my perspective, I’d like to start with this post. […]

Best Wishes

by Andrea Lynn

We are decorating the house for the birthday party. With my two girls, I’ve done seven parties, and the formula is nearly the same every time. Balloons, blown up by me and tied and taped to the ceiling in bunches, no matter what house we’ve been in. Streamers from corner to corner. Then comes the cake. A different one every year. A butterfly banana cake for Claire’s first birthday, a safari diorama for her second, a pink strawberry for her third, a round (!) chocolate cake with pink roses for her fourth. […]

Infertile. Me? No way, I’m Latina!

Liz Raptis Picco

I’m soon to be 60, raising teenage brothers who my husband and I adopted from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua almost fifteen years ago. Being a Latina and native speaker definitely helped when we approached an orphanage in northern Mexico. Being a Latina also made it difficult for me to talk about it openly among my family.

I’ve noticed the same reluctance in Latinas to discuss infertility and IVF, as well as adoption. I follow many wonderful blogs where important issues concerning Latinas are showcased, but I have not yet found one that discusses infertility.

Why? […]

The Inextinguishable Power of Women

by Beverley Golden

Maximina and her Mom

It is truly extraordinary to experience a monumental anniversary celebration in life. Just over ten years ago, I naively flew off across the ocean to an alternative clinic in Germany looking for answers, hope and healing, for my undiagnosable medical condition. Weighing in at 89 pounds on a 5 foot 6 inch frame, I was a walking skeleton and apparently looked like the only thing I was about to cross, was death’s door. My daughter had even given me permission to die. That truly shocked me. […]

My Lovey

by Jane Samuel

Method Happy Holiday by Method

Most kids have loveys. Tired-looking things that they have loved into threadbare parcels of comfort. Perhaps a beloved blanket – a gift from some ancient aunt the child doesn’t even know but who thought enough to gift the one thing every child needs. Perhaps a bear, or bunny, or boppi – whatever that is. Perhaps even a woman’s slip (as was the case with my cousin’s youngest). […]

The “N” Word

by Peg O'Neill, M.D.

“Mom, that kid just called Joey a nigger!” Jimmy, my fair-haired eleven year-old, his face flushed with anger, stood before me on the elementary school playground, trying to process the insult that had just been hurled at his darker-skinned younger brother. “I was going to fight him, but I decided to come and tell you.” […]

Geriatric Or Just Wise?

by Ellie Stoneley

Mother, Me & Hope

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter” – Mark Twain

I’ve been asked so many times what it feels like to be an ‘older Mother.’ It always strikes me as a silly question, really, it’s not as if I knew what it was like to be a younger mother. I am what I am, we are where we are and I am 48 1/2 with a 12 month old daughter… I am happy, blissfully happy, if a little tired most of the time. […]