Diary of a Midlife Mom – September 2020 by Lin Griffith

My story begins like many other women.  As a little girl, I dreamed of marrying my prince charming one day, happily raising at least 4 children all while being the perfect wife and mom.  Sound familiar?

Fast forward about 20 years, and lo and behold, I was finding myself going through a divorce before the age of 30, and no children yet.

At the time, my family and friends tried to remain positive for me.  The reality was that I could move on with no strings attached, and there was still time to remarry and have babies.

Time. Now there is a word.  Think about what that word means to you for just a moment.

With my indefinite amount of time, I set out focusing on building on my career and education, dating once in a while, falling in and out of love, traveling, and navigating my 30s as a single woman…not an uncommon path for many women at that age.

Nevertheless, I felt there was a missing piece…..I still wanted to be a mom.  Simply put, I wanted a family of my own, and the older I got, the more I began to worry if it was ever going … Continue reading..

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Cool Outdoor Games for Family & Adult Fun by Robin Gorman Newman

If you’re like me, given the Pandemic, I’ve been spending more time in our backyard.  That has included inviting friends for social distance visits, bringing in food….and looking for activities that we can safely share.  This has inspired me to seek out cool games we can play, and these also work for parks, beaches, and event a home space if you have one that works.

Here’s a few of my favorites that I’d like to share…

LADDER GOLF – The original Ladder Ball game since 2003

This Ladder Golf brand double Ladder Ball Tournament Edition comes with everything 2 to 4 players need to play a game of Ladder Ball. This set is super fast and simple to setup (even I could do it), and very solid and sturdy.  Made of hardwood, it comes real golf balls, and has brass hardware and unbreakable rungs. Though a bit on the weighty side, the setup was easy, and you can break it down for compact storage.  Comes in a convenient green cloth carrying back for easy transport.

We really enjoyed playing this.  Just challenging enough to be fun ‘n satisfying.  I’m not a golfer, but no need to be to have a … Continue reading..

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Halloween Treats for the Kid in All of Us by Robin Gorman Newman

Having been in business for over 80 years, Economy Candy is New York’s oldest retail candy store and a family owned business.

My son, now 17, and I, used to do regular staycations in NYC (we live on Long Island), and during one of those trips, we visited the iconic shop at 108 Rivington Street on the Lower East Side.  It is a sweet feast for the eyes with a cool retro vibe, and there is something for everyone, including amusing novelty items, candy collectibles that make for unique gifts, dried fruits ‘n nuts, specialty chocolates, sugar free offerings….and candy for various occasions including weddings and baby showers.

They are presently gearing up for Halloween and have created a number of super fun Halloween CandyCare Packs™  currently available on their website to ship nationwide.

When they reached out to me, I couldn’t resist taking them up on their offer to gift my family Halloween goodies and more, and I wanted to share about their binge worthy array of offerings. My son’s jaw dropped when I surprised him with the Halloween CandyCare Pack, and I warned he needs to ration his daily intake, which no doubt will be easier said than … Continue reading..

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The College Conversation by Eric J. Furda and Jacques Steinberg (Book Excerpt)

From THE COLLEGE CONVERSATION by Eric J. Furda and Jacques Steinberg, published by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright © 2020 by Eric J. Furda and Jacques Steinberg.

As readers of this book, you may be joining the College Conversation at different points in your child’s development. But our particular focus here will be for parents of children currently in middle school or high school. If your oldest child is still in elementary school, our strong counsel is to let them enjoy being children—exploring their academic interests and having fun—as you gain insight into their emerging learning styles.

For those of you whose children are in middle school—typically grades six through eight—we believe that these years are far too early in a child’s development to be visiting colleges, and we can as- sure you that no college admissions officer is going to be dipping into your child’s middle school record as part of an admission decision. But the course selection that you and your child make in the middle school years can impact later academic choices. For example, a pre-algebra course in eighth grade can serve as a foundation for … Continue reading..

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7 Ways Arts and Crafts Help Child Development

Although some people view arts and crafts simply as fun activities for kids to enjoy, they can actually greatly contribute towards your child’s development. This is why so many elementary school projects and lessons include art in some way. It’s the perfect medium to teach kids how to express themselves while also reaping plenty of other benefits. Even if your children are participating in arts and crafts in school, you should make time at home to work on projects together like diamond painting or illustrating their own book. These activities will encourage you to bond and develop fundamental skills. Here are some other ways that the arts can impact your child.

1. Help Develop Motor Skills

Children have to learn how to master their motor skills through practice. As a child is growing, they work on gross and fine motor skills. Gross motor skills refer to actions that require major muscle movements such as standing or walking, while fine motor skills are developed through smaller muscle movements like holding a pen or brushing your teeth. Arts and crafts involve the use of tools and utensils that can greatly improve your child’s ability to perform tasks that require fine motor skills.… Continue reading..

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What Do We Mean by Healthy Aging? By Dr. Murali Rao, author, 50+ and Healthy (Book Excerpt)

Chapter 4

Mental and Emotional Reserves

Research has been undertaken on the existence and the effects of ‘brain reserves’ as well as ‘emotional reserves’ in relation to later-life mental health. The first is still little known, and the starting premise is that — just as some people simply have greater muscular strength throughout their lives than others — brain strength or brain capacity is also different from one person to another. Does this brain reserve help to create or sustain later-life mental health? Stay tuned for more research results. Emotional reserves, like that greater muscular strength, is also a later-life resource to maintain mental health. These reserves are what allow some of us to deal head on with (and fairly quickly resolve and move on from) life’s challenges, troubles, shocks and stresses — while others of us wallow in them, wring our hands, get and stay emotional and reactive for quite a longer time. An ability to self-motivate and take one’s overall health in charge might be part of that emotional reserve, and it goes a long way to maintaining one’s physical, emotional and mental health. This might include self-monitoring, since major depression and dementia evolve slowly, over years and … Continue reading..

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Be All In: Raising Kids for Success in Sports and Life by Christie Pearce Rampone and Dr. Kristine Keane (Book Excerpt)

Giving Honest Feedback

It is so hard to give negative feedback, especially to our children.  Research on management consistently shows that leaders tend to avoid giving feedback, especially negative or corrective feedback.2 This holds true for parenting as well. Parents are afraid of hurting their children’s feelings or doing damage to their self-esteem. On the flip side, they are afraid of inflating a false sense of pride and fostering cockiness or self-absorption.

Positive reinforcement assists in the development of children’s self-esteem and self-worth. Feelings of safety and security aid the development of internal models needed for tackling problems and handling adversity. Children need both rewards and ramifications  to perform well. Indeed, bad behavior brings consequences, and parents need to be the first line of defense for teaching that lesson as well. Christie recalls that teaching accountability was one of her toughest tasks as head coach of Sky Blue FC in 2009, during their run to winning the Women’s Professional Soccer national title.

A year after the US National Women’s Team won gold at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, we were on a high. Natasha Kai was a key member of that team. She had so much talent and could be relied … Continue reading..

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What’s One More Year? by Sharon O’Donnell

My middle son, and his fiance, have been dating since they were in 10th grade — it’ll be eleven years in November. Yep. 11 years. They went through high school together where they both played on the basketball and baseball/softball teams, and I still think it’s cute when they go outside to throw the baseball around.  They got engaged in December of 2018 and planned the wedding for October of 2020; he was busy getting his CPA certification, and she was in the middle of a five-year pharmacology PhD program at UVA, and she would also be working in a lab in Germany for the fall of 2019. Thus, waiting until October of 2020 made sense. We were sooo looking forward to the big day in Charlottesville.

But alas, Covid 19 came into the picture, and in July, my son and his fiance made the difficult decision to postpone the wedding rather than their wedding party and guests taking a risk with their health.  So now it’s October of 2021. Totally agree with the decision but still it’s disappointing. On the bright side, at least I’ll have another year to lose some weight before the big day!  I guess when … Continue reading..

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