by Jane Samuel
Recently I read Michael Wolff’s New York article “Mother I Love You” (May 2012) and found myself nodding to every other experience he had penned about his involvement with an aging and terminally ill parent. Two years ago I would have read that article and been an outsider looking in, now I have pulled up a chair at the same table. […]
by Maggie Lamond Simone
“What do you want to do with your life?” It’s a question I ask my college students this time of year to help them define their goals, and I’m beginning to realize the silliness of the question. It’s almost like asking people casually at the grocery store what they did over summer break — expecting them to sum up 10 weeks of their lives in a sentence. Not an easy task. […]
by Susan Newman, Ph.D.
“She’s an older mother!” The obstetrician bellowed to the attending staff and everyone else in earshot as I was rolled in the operating room to deliver my son.
“Do you have to announce that to the entire hospital?” I cringed.
Even as more women wait until their mid-thirties and early forties to become parents, most physicians consider them to be of “advanced maternal age” and high risk simply because they’re older. In one way, the extra attention paid to each advanced maternal aged patient is reassuring. […]
by Julie Donner Andersen
Every child-rearing book will tell you that children reach a point in their babyhood when being naked is preferred to wearing clothing. Child psychologists concur that this is a normal, healthy phase of development as children start exploring their birthday suits. […]
by Phyllis Goldberg, Ph.D. and Rosemary Lichtman Ph.D.
Image from the Bullying Project
Dear Reader: Now that school is in full-swing, issues are arising. Among them – bullying. See what Her Mentor Center can suggest for you:
Remember what it was like to be in school, afraid of the big bully in the neighborhood? The documentary Bully reignited the national dialogue about this challenge for kids, following several students and their families over the course of one school year. […]
Jane Samuel
The title of this blog – Mothering in the Middle – comes at me in more ways than one.
It sums up my life because I am a mid-life mother. I am the mother who wears night sweats and ponders progesterone while also wearing the face paint my nine-year-old old recently painted over my fine lines. […]
by Cyma Shapiro
Dear Reader: We, as midlife mothers, have a never-ending (and sometimes unattainable) quest to keep current at all times, esp. given our generational gap (did I say that?). We must know what (or even more than) our kids know, while remaining contemporary. In our desire to stay hip, cool, young, I mean: tight, sick, clean, dope, sweet, bad a$$ (need help? these all mean “cool”), I’ve compiled a list of new words for 2012, which should, at the very least, catapult you ahead of your friends while playing Scrabble. Got it?
1. aha moment – a moment of sudden realization/inspiration
2. cloud computing – the practice of storing regularly used computer data on multiple servers that can be accessed through the Internet
3. copernicium – a short-lived artificially produced radioactive element that has 112 protons
4. earworm – song or melody that keeps repeating in one’s mind
5. energy drink – a usually carbonated beverage that typically contains caffeine and other ingredients (as taurine and ginseng) intended to increase the drinker’s energy
6. f-bomb – the word f$$k —used metaphorically as a euphemism
7. game changer -a newly introduced element or factor that changes an existing situation or activity in a significant way
8. gassed – drunk
9 gastropub -pub, bar, or tavern that offers meals of high quality
10. man cave – a room or space (as in a basement) designed according to the taste of the man of the house to be used as his personal area for hobbies and leisure activities
11. sexting – the sending of sexually explicit messages or images by cell phone
12. systemic risk – the risk that the failure of one financial institution (as a bank) could […]
Dear Reader: I stumbled on this one very depressing day. We featured Daylle Deanna Schwartz last year. Since all things happen for a reason, I’m again sharing this (full-size) with you. She does this the best:
DAYLLE’S 10 COMMITMENTS OF SELF-LOVE
1. I shall lovingly accept myself as I am right now.
2. I shall appreciate all the beauty that makes me who I am.
3. I shall regularly give thanks for all of my blessings.
4. I shall trust in my ability to take care of myself.
5. I shall not criticize myself.
6. I shall not criticize others.
7. I shall forgive myself when I make a mistake.
8. I shall be kind to others, without sacrificing my own needs.
9. I shall take responsibility for my life.
10. I shall love myself to the best of my ability.
Worth The Wait….
Children of older mothers get a better start in life, study finds.
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/worth-the-wait-20120918-2637q.html