admin, Author at Mothering in the Middle

The Birthing of Our Adoption (A Pre-Adoption Story)

by Denise Naus

There is a lot of focus during the adoption process on the children being adopted – as well there should be. They are only little children, after all, and going through circumstances they didn’t ask for or deserve. They are the ones making so many new changes – a new home, new family, and a new language.

But adoption doesn’t just affect the adopted children. It affects every single person in the family, and even reaches to the extended family and friends. For me, this journey has been three and one-half years of longing, torment, excitement and wondering.

I know it is difficult to understand until you have been through the adoption process. Know how one’s heart can fall in love with a child before they are in your family. How you can grieve for them and ache for them, when all you’ve seen is a photo (if that). […]

Should We Take The Only Thing They Have Left?

by John Simmons

Perhaps we should. My wife and I decided that it was the right thing to change our children’s names as we adopted them. This happened across the board, from Jack, who was only a month old when he joined our family, clear up to Emily who was fifteen.

That really upsets some people. My kids? Not so much. Recently a mom-blogger voiced her disagreement and so I decided to find out what my adopted children really thought. We had never talked about it before. […]

What I Do

by Joely Johnson Mork

People ask me what I do. Sometimes, I find myself groping for an answer. I will admit to having referred to myself as a “writer.” That simple answer works as well as “editor” or “late-in-life mommy” or “that 40-something woman married to that 30-something guy.”

I have, in fact, been published on numerous occasions, so you would think I must find time to write on a regular basis. But there are so many other things I do that define me. […]

How to Love Your Kidults by Letting Go

By Phyllis Goldberg, Ph.D. and Rosemary Lichtman, Ph.D.

Are you a loving but hovering parent? Parents typically are raising fewer children today and have actively pursued an only-the-best policy from infancy on. So far, the progeny of Helicopter Parents have reaped the benefits from some of these advantages. Record numbers are attending college and the rate of teenage pregnancy is down. […]

Soul Contracts – Do Our Children Choose Us?

by Jo Beth Young

Angel and Girl on Hill by Jo Beth Young

The Angels are always adamant that we have a beautiful karmic bond with the Children we choose and that choose us, whether they be by birth, adoption or fostering.

Those of us familiar with Soul Contracts won’t find this too hard to understand when we realize that all of our relationships, but particularly those of intimacy and depth, are all pre destined and chosen mainly in the spirit state before birth.

In the last year I’ve started to ‘see’ these bonds of contracts and soul seed paths behind people when they come for readings. They look remarkable; a cross between a star map and a string of pearls. Each strand showing us the agreements and ‘destiny’ points on our journey, with as much time and leeway as our free will wishes to join up dot to dot! […]

How to Find Your Mothering Zen

by Melissa Lapides, MA, MFT

As a mother, it is sometimes hard to find peace in a busy day. I am not just talking about the kind of peace that you experience by the few valued moments that you actually get to sit down and relax, but about the inner peace that makes you feel connected to your purpose in being a mother.

Sometimes you can get so caught up in the daily routines and emotions that it is hard to connect to what you are really working towards as a parent. Raising children can feel busy and repetitive at times and sometimes you can loose sight of what you are really trying to accomplish. Are you working towards how many activities you can successfully get your children to participate in or are you working towards raising your children to be self-confident, self-reliant adults. […]

Swimsuit Season

by Maggie Lamond Simone

Well, fans, it’s back-to-you-know-what time, and once again we’re hoping that everyone is returning refreshed, with a little more knowledge and maybe a little more confidence than last year! We’re pretty excited up here in the booth, as we get a bird’s-eye view of the season’s latest styles. […]

Question: At 42 and still childless, is it time to have a baby with a sperm donor – instead of my long-term boyfriend?

I was a month shy of my 38^th birthday when I filed for divorce. I knew my biological clock was fast ticking down, and if I wanted a child I’d need to do it soon. But I was in the throes of starting my life over. I had just moved across the country, embarked on a new career and needed to put the broken piece of my heart back together. A baby would have to wait a little longer.

When I met a guy who was so much of the guy I was looking for, I tried to ignore the fact that he was less than enthusiastic about adding more kids to his family (he already had three boys ages 5, 7 and 11). At 39, I convinced myself I could wait another year and see how our relationship unfolded. Maybe he would come around. […]

Middle Aged Exercisers: On Not Throwing in The Towel

by Jan Graham

I can’t speak to Old Age, ’cause I ain’t there yet myself. But I’m 52. When I hear people bitching and moaning and sobbing about the toll hitting your 40’s, 50’s can take on the body, I respond by…

Bitching and moaning and sobbing right along with them! Cause yeah, it’s amazing and amusing all the varied ways the human body can fall apart over time.

But when formerly active people with garden variety age-related deterioration (as opposed to serious injuries or medical conditions) try to use middle age as an excuse to drop cardio and strength training and intervals and anything more challenging than a trip to Costco, that’s when I call bullsh-t. […]

Fertility Eating on the Road

by Cindy Bailey

It can be especially rough trying to stick to a fertility diet (or any diet, for that matter) when you’re travelling. You may not have access to a kitchen, and depending on where you go, you may not be able to find your usual healthy foods or know where to go to get them. Here are some tips to help:

Do the best you can with what you got. If you go out to a restaurant, try to make it one that serves salads or vegetables. Even if these items are not organic, you’ll still get the nutritional value, and they’re a whole lot healthier than eating pizza, sandwiches or cream- (and wheat-) laden pasta. Plus, you can eat as much of it as you want. […]

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