I don’t know exactly when/where I came up with the idea. Maybe it started in the shower. I think it really took hold
while driving in my minivan a few years ago, listening to an all-70s radio station, high on coffee so my brain was firing pretty good… and suddenly it hit me—wouldn’t it be a great fundraiser for
a school PTA to host a dance just for parents? Not a party, not a dinner, but a dance. I mean, think about it—I’m always hearing moms complaining that there’s nowhere to go out and go dancing
anymore. You either have to be into country music; or hanging out with 20-somethings at clubs with weird, one-word names like “Liquid”, listening to a professional DJ spin something called “House”
(no thanks); or opt for a smoky bar with a local band that needs to turn down their amps (and spend more time practicing); or attend a …
Category: Charities
10 Ways for Overcommitted Parents to Say No
Lately, I’m often reminded of something a friend of mine once said in a Christmas card note, just after she’d listed all
the volunteer activities in which she was involved, like PTA and Girl Scouts: “It’s ironic that the things we do to benefit our children keep us from spending quality time with them.” At the
time, I’d barely started a family and couldn’t relate. 16 years later, with at least 13 of those years spent on various volunteer boards, I can. And now that my husband has gotten involved as an
office-holder in “stuff” like PTA as well, we’re doubly aware. This year, we’re officers or committee chairs in 10 organizations combined, and in one, we each hold both a board position and
…
“Valen-tinies” No More: Cards With A Heart
Gee, I never realized how many “lasts” happen when it’s the last year of elementary school for the youngest child in the family.
I already posted about the “last” parent preview film for Human Growth and Development. Lately it’s hit me that coming up is the last Science Fair
(Yippeeee!!) and the last class Valentine’s Day party.
Amazing…over a decade of buying valentines for my kids to stuff in their …
Search for a Cure
I get sidetracked a lot when I’m cleaning the house, but sometimes that’s a good thing. Like the other day, when something caught my eye as I was throwing away the “dog newspapers”– the ones we put on the kitchen floor for Luke when we’re going to be gone awhile. Luckily, this particular issue of the Dallas Morning News was “unused” and I sat transfixed, reading a story about a suburban Dallas family with 3 children, beaming at me from the crumpled paper in matching black sweaters.
Just a few years ago, Michelle, the mom, had been a typical “normal” mom, encouraging the kids to do their homework, volunteering in the classroom, cooking with her daughter, cheering her son at his hockey games…and then her behavior started to change.