One week ago our family welcomed a new addition– our great-nephew Evan was born in California amidst much excitement. We’re thrilled to have our first great-nephew and my brother is double thrilled to have his first grandson. While it will be awhile before we get to see him, he won’t be without company. My sister-in-law hopped on a plane as soon as my niece’s water broke; by the time Mom and baby arrived home from the hospital, a houseful of more family was there. Which is typical for the majority of births in our society, right? Doting grandmothers arrive to help out; friends and other family members flock to get a first glimpse of the tiny new life. It’s what we do when a child is born. It’s tradition.
Is it just my husband and me, or is there anyone else out there who thinks our society needs to re-think this whole time-worn welcoming process? Let’s start with labor.
Month: December 2009
A Generation of Nearsighted Nerds?
Amidst all the busy-ness of the holidays, did you catch the news last week? A study conducted by the National […]
Defining a Mom’s “Brand”
I’ll bet I’m not the only Mom whose family is hard-pressed to figure out what to get her each year for holidays and birthdays. I mean, think about it—Moms are usually pretty good at picking up on all sorts of clues and being the “gatherers”, getting gifts for everyone else, sometimes even stockpiling them in a special closet or drawer throughout the year– but leaving few clues about themselves. And let’s face it, since husbands and kids aren’t always very astute gatherers, they need really obvious clues. Like a wish list. But some years I can’t think of much to put on a list. And sometimes, don’t you wish they could just figure it out on their own?
I realized recently that I don’t make that an easy task. Since Mom is always serving others, self too often gets left behind. For example, do my kids really have any idea what kind of music I like? When they’re in my car, I let them listen to their favorite radio stations. But when they’re in my husband’s car, does he? Rarely. Instead, they listen to sports talk radio, and CDs like The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, U2…