We’ve had a blast seeing so many of you out at our area’s spring events, from our wildly successful Summer Adventure Expo to Earth Day and the CASA Superhero Run. And we look forward to seeing more of your smiling faces out and about this month. Come see us at Explore the Outdoors on Sunday, May 1, at Huguenot Park, at Race for the Cure on Brown’s Island on Saturday, May 7, and as always, at Short Pump PALS the second Tuesday of the month (this month, free train rides!) and at Willow Lawn Mommy and Me on the second Wednesday of the month (with the music of Latin Grammy winner Mister G). It’s great to finally be short-sleeved and sandaled for the next many months – hooray for spring in Richmond!
Of course, with May comes the celebration of moms on Sunday, May 8. Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms and like-a-moms out there! But really, shouldn’t we be celebrated every day of the year for all the hard work we put into pulling off this motherhood gig?! I mean really, it’s tough! Beginning on page 14, we profile three neat Richmond moms who are managing to successfully incorporate demanding careers with the joys and challenges of parenthood. As I read the article, I noticed that although they are three very different women, they all had one thing in common – they each openly admit that they couldn’t do all they do without the support of their loving husbands, the Superdads of the households. This got me thinking about the many single moms out there, some of whom are doing it solo by choice and some, not so much. Every time my better half is away from the household for more than the normal work day, I give extra props to the single moms out there. I swear, I couldn’t do it without him for more than a day.
I have a friend who said from the time I met her in our twenties that if she didn’t have a fella by the time she was thirty, she was going to have babies on her own. As thirty approached, she pushed that number back to thirty-five, and by then, she was ready and started the process. Without much success at first, I was afraid to tell her when we met for lunch one day that her wish had become my reality (I wasn’t showing much yet). But before I could get the words out, she announced, “I’m pregnant!” “What?! No way! Me too!” Now with kids just a few months apart, I watch in awe as she’s raising two girls on her own. I asked her once how she manages, to which she replied, “It’s the only way I’ve ever known. You can’t miss what you’ve never had.” Gulp. She’s a superhero, there’s no doubt about it.
We all know our share of single moms or moms with spouses who travel a lot. Let’s work together to ease their load from time to time – maybe a meal dropped off, a surprise lawn-mowing, or even a friendly pep talk to assure them that they’re doing a great job. We moms need all the help we can get, during “our month” and always!
