From the NYMetroParents May issue, a selection of thought-provoking, laugh-inducing, and just plain interesting facts and quotes from the web and the world of parenting.
On Being a Man
“I have felt like divorcing my wife several times over our five-year marriage and I am sure I will feel that way again, and I would bet money that she wants to divorce me on a daily basis… Marriage is hard work. Being a father is hard work. Being a son in your 30s with two children and a wife is extremely hard work. Being a son-in-law who too often allows his children to touch the windows with dirty hands is extremely hard work. I am a man. A man raised me, but a woman also raised me to be a man.”
—T.J. Garvin, in a guest post entitled “Some Thoughts on Life and Being a Man” on Cara Lemieux’s blog (meandducky.com); Cara is a single mother and news producer who lives in Manhattan, and T.J. is her—based on this post—witty, loyal, stand-up, say-it-like-it-is brother-in-law.
“I used to think my relationship with my mother had ended with her death…. As I change, so does my perception of my mother. As time passes, the memories that keep her alive are washed in a new light. Our relationship is ongoing. It is a wellspring.”
—Vicki Addesso, who lives in Eastchester, in the new memoir Still Here Thinking of You: A Second Chance with Our Mothers (Big Table Publishing), in which Addesso and three other Westchester authors grapple with the circumstances that shaped their mothers’ lives—and in so doing, honestly explore the true nature of mother-daughter relationships; read a revealing Q-and-A with the writers at nymetroparents.com/still.
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More than 55 percent of students enrolled in high school participate in athletics. —according to the 2012 High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations |
Happy Mother’s Day
“There are beloved women all around me who I watch and learn from every day. Who are truly representative of those beautiful qualities so iconic to the title of Mother. I need them, love them, revere them. But as my Mum reminded me today when we spoke, we all come to the families we need to. I guess I needed bold and bossy and strong. And Mama, I wouldn’t have you any other way.”
—Chrysula Winegar (@chrysula), who believes “mothers are powerful and can truly change the world,” on her blog When You Wake Up a Mother; she lives in Connecticut with her husband and their four children.
“It’s Not Easy Being a Rich Kid”
“Mine and others’ research shows that privileged kids are, as a group, more self-centered, depressed, and self-destructive. They’re more narcissistic, but they struggle to develop a sense of self. And yet they excel in academics, sports, and other pursuits. So we have a generation of paradox: children who are bright and talented, but increasingly troubled.”
—Peggy Drexler, Ph.D. (@DrPeggyDrexler), a research psychologist, assistant professor of psychology at Weill Medical College, Cornell University, whose most recent book is Our Fathers, Ourselves, in a HuffPo contribution that triggered an onslaught of interesting comments from readers (weigh in at nymetroparents.com/rich); Dr. Drexler lives in NYC and is a mother of two
