Launched!
This morning, I launched my son — my baby — into the world. Today he begins an academic career that I hope will foster and channel his natural curiosity, helping him chart a path of discovery that takes him ….. where? The possibilities are endless. He also will encounter a new social milieu and an expanding circle of influences — both positive and negative. My heart was full of hope and nervous excitement as I gave him over into his teacher’s capable hands. And at the same time, I was aware that entering kindergarten also signifies a curtailing of his freedom....
Read MoreHow Much Beer Do I Need for My Son’s Fifth Birthday Party?
I’m feeling pretty emotional tonight — alternately weepy and wistful. Today my son (the baby) graduated from preschool and then we had a big party to celebrate his 5th (fifth!) birthday. Now, exhausted and more than a little wound up, I am blogging for the first time in months. I used to scoff at kiddie graduation ceremonies. But now I see the value of this rite of passage. My son is old enough to comprehend that something special is ending and something new and unknown is coming. He patiently explained to me that the graduates would sing “Silver and Gold” because...
Read MoreChildcare – Who Pays?
“I’d love to work, but I’d barely make enough to pay for childcare,” says my friend, a mother of three. And I’ve heard this explanation from many stay-at-home-moms, heck, it was my reasoning for a long time as well. But assessing the cost of childcare solely to the mother’s income doesn’t make sense, says Joan Williams, author of Re-Shaping the Work-Family Debate: Why Men and Class Matter. Instead, couples should view the cost of childcare as a cost of “protecting the economic future of the entire family, and specifically the children”...
Read MoreConfessions of a Mid-Life Mama
Mid-Life Crisis — the phrase conjures up the image of a forty-something man who suddenly feels his life slipping away from him, wonders if this is all there is, and reacts by getting himself a flashy new sportscar, or a maybe a hot young girlfriend. There’s no corresponding paradigm for the female mid-life crisis. Most of us are just too darned busy managing our families and careers. But the experience of looking at one’s life and longing for something more is not limited to men. Some suggest that the typical female mid-life crisis is fundamentally different from the male...
Read MoreThanks, Moms!
Here’s a shout out to all the stay-at-home moms (and dads) out there – thank you for all you do, not just for your own kids but for my kids too. I am writing this from my hotel room in Pt. Reyes, California where I am staying for a client off-site retreat that Leigh Marz and I are conducting with a partnership of non-profit organizations. I feel privileged to work with this talented, committed, and ambitious group. And what made this work possible was the support of my husband and the help of no fewer than four mothers of my children’s friends, who have hosted my son for...
Read MoreFive Tips for When the Parenting Honeymoon is Over
What do we do when the first bloom of parenthood wears off and reality sets in? In marriage, it is called the “seven year itch,” when many a husband or wife tires of the reality of life with their spouse. But this experience is not limited to marital partners, says divorce lawyer and mediator Alison Patton in a recent blog. Parents, too, may feel the itch. What then? You can’t divorce your kids. Patton describes facing the realization that her kids were flawed human beings when they were about seven. She saw reflections of her own behaviors in her children and realized...
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