Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Mother of the Year: Me!


There needs to be a "Mother of the Year" award and I need to win it. Maybe "Mother of Many Years." Here's why:

Aside from the usual wiping of tears, lending a shoulder and an ear, going to every football/basketball/baseball game, lending (i.e. GIVING) money to whichever child may need or request it, etc. Since 2007, I have gone with my daughter to, at last count, 11 Jonas brothers concerts/events, not only in Connecituct and New Jersey, but also Washington D-frikkin'-C. The Hannah Montana concert, one Miley as Miley and not Hannah concert, the Jonas Brothers movie, the stupid Hannah Montana movie and the Miley "Last Song" movie. I have had to go because my daughter doesn't have her license (even though she is breathing down Birthday #17's neck).

I got out of seeing Nick Jonas solo this past December because: A) We could only secure one ticket, and, B) The concert was in NYC and she could take the train in.

This afternoon she has requested seeing the Miley movie for a second time, and because the theatre is a good 15-20 minutes plus from our home, and driving back and forth doesn't thrill me, I am having to endure the movie one more time; it's the lesser of two evils. I think...?

Maybe you think you deserve the award. Tell me why in the comments section!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Mom's Nite Out Event in Waterford!



On Thursday evening, May 6th, the Crystal Mall in Waterford, CT is hosting a FREE "Moms Nite Out" -- a celebration of motherhood for moms and moms-to-be.

From 4 to 8 p.m. moms can enjoy free pampering, giveaways, makeup consultations, mini facials and massages, menu tastings, seminars on health and beauty and much more! The first 100 guests will receive swag bags with items and offers from event participants. In addition, guests will have the chance to enter-to-win a trip to Aruba!

The Crystal Mall is located at 850 Hartford Tpke., Waterford.

Thursday, April 01, 2010

COLUMN: Watching Your Child Wheel Away

Watching your child wheel away

We give our children roots and wings; often those wings come in the form of either two or four wheels of freedom.

The bicycle is our child's first taste of the thrill of the wheel. We start them on tricycles and/or "Big Wheels," sort of two-wheeled bikes-in-training. It's easy for them. Fun. They can go as fast as their chubby little legs will allow. When their legs grow a bit longer and leaner, we graduate the child to a big kid's bike with training wheels. Again, it's a relatively comfortable feat to master.

The expression, "it's as easy as riding a bike," is really kind of absurd, as any five-, six-, or seven year-old learning to ride a bike without training wheels can attest. Don't you remember your own first time those handy-dandy metal security blankets came off? Do you recall your child's first attempt to go training wheel-less? Definitely not easy. Hard falls. Nasty scrapes. Head in helmet bonking down on pavement. It's probably the first time your little cherub may mutter, "This sucks!"

But once it is mastered, when that moment of realization hits you that mom or dad is so not holding onto the the back of your seat, the joyous sensation is intoxicating: You're free! Look at you go! The breeze hits your face, you balance like a pro and you don't require no stinkin' trainers or parental palm to get you going.

With a bicycle, you don't necessarily need your mom to drive you up the road to your friend's house. Maybe you live near your town's center and there is a relatively safe route to the candy store. Or, as you progress through elementary and middle school, your parents allow you to bike to the land of academia.

And eventually, you turn 16, and you succumb to the siren song of the shiny, four-wheeled mode of transportation parked in the driveway. The automobile! So much cooler and faster than your bike, not to mention it's a better way to travel when it's raining.

And you - the parent - quickly discover that helping your child learn to ride a bike is a piece of cake compared to teaching him how to drive a car.

I have maneuvered through this process twice before and am in the midst of Driving 101 with the third child. It is frightening, thrilling, other wordly and ultimately, joyful. Such a shared milestone, not unlike that first pedal without the training wheels. When you finally get them to the DMV, they pass the test, and are standing up against the blue (or is it a pinkish hue now?) backdrop for their license photo, it's a teary-eyed moment: pride, fear and unbridled love.

At 16 or 17, your kid is on the move without you, heading down the highway that will eventually lead to college or another chapter that doesn't necessarily involve them living with you full-time anymore. They will still need you, of course, but they will not need-need you. You aren't the sole wind beneath their wings, as they learn to roll with whatever comes their way in the fresh land of freedom.

"Look ma! No hands!" cries the new bike rider with astonishment and bliss.

The new driver lowers his or her car window down, waves and gives you the thumbs up sign as they make their way down the driveway, no longer required or requiring you as co-pilot.

Or so it appears. Don't be fooled or saddened for long. For those wheels which seem made to roll away actually do the reverse as well, returning to the eager palms (and arms) of their parents.