Celebrating Fathers Day without a Dad

My son is 10 and although I think he is exceptional in every way, he is just a typical pre-pubescent boy.  We are a family, just the two of us (+ 3 cute but annoying cats) because I decided to become a mother on my own.  We live in the “burbs”” and have a home with a white picket fence on a dead end street.  He goes to a charter school with the same 20 kids in his class since kindergarten, has tons of friends and activities that keep him busy. Our life is truly the American Dream (according to public opinion). We just don’t have a dad and it really isn’t even a topic of conversation normally except this time of year.

 The not having a dad conversation starts happening around Mother’s Day. This year he had a plan and needed someone to drive him to the mall to get the special gift for me but it seemed his schedule and everyone he asked to take him just didn’t jive. Boy was he frustrated and a bit bummed and since he’s 10 he really was able to communicate how unfair it was that he didn’t have a dad. It just made me smile because his idea of a dad was someone to take him places and maybe give him some money.

 This year was the first year we had that serious discussion about my choice to be a single mom. I asked him if was he ever sad that he didn’t have a dad to take him to play sports, or be in the audience when he got an award or help him build things (he loves tools and wood). He just laughed and said really mom “Why would I need a dad for all those things, I have you and I know how to build stuff on my own!”

 Raising a son without a dad has its challenges but it’s enlightening to see my son grow into a caring, sensitive independent little man.  There are moments that I wish he had a dad, but those moments are only because I want someone else to share in my complete joy of raising such an amazing kid.

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Note: Just changed pix to go with blog post. BW pix is #Sarah Leddick who was my inspiration for becoming a single mom

Jersey Strong

I did my share of volunteering on the shore right after Sandy hit. It was devasting to see the destruction. Then the holidays came and life resumed in Mayberry. Even though I am 5 miles away from the beach, I have been oblivous to  the rebuild. I just thought it would all be good by the time the summer came around but now the season is less then a month away and there is so much more to do. 

An American Life

This weekend I am going to indulge my 10 year old son and take him to a Kyary Pamyu  concert. She’s a Japanese Pop Star that he absolutely adores. Actually he’s obsessed with all things Japanese. He loves anything Animae, drawing Manga and believe it or not is actually teaching himself the language. He discovered Kyary on You Tube, Animae films and series on the internet and downloaded a million Apps on his IPhone to learn the language. 

In contrast his Japanese Nanny, who came to us when he was 4 years old and stayed with us for close to 2 years has embraced the American culture. She now lives on a farm in Rural PA with her husband, 2 children and extended family and assorted animals.

Through the internet and social media the world is so much more accessible these days. Where we are born and how we are brought up does not dictate who or what we will love or where we will end up… Thats a good thing!

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A link to Kyary Pamyu Pamyu

Happy baby … The honeymoon of parenting starts @ 4 months and lasts till ….

It was fun to catch up with my friends in Boca this past holiday .. Their daughter just turned 7 months and although she couldn’t enjoy the rides @ the carnival she did love the colors, people and especially the stimulation of being out and about…

This one is for sure a social butterfly!

Stop and smell the flowers… Syndicated blog post on the “Ville”  community Blog published by #Kidville on April 8th here is a few outtakes from the shoot

Lazy Days

Sometimes I wish I could just hang out with my best friend all day and do silly stuff. Listen to really good music, watch a movie together, paint our toes and nails… You know the kinda things you did when you had a weekend home from college and nothing more to worry about then where to go later or what to wear… 

These days even a lazy day has to be scheduled but now my best friend is my son and that’s OK.

How would you like to spend a lazy day?

Baby Love

We all love our children from the moment we know of their imminent arrival into our world, but that magic moment of infatuation really occurs sometime in the 4th month when our babies discover that there is actually a world around them. When their smiles are truly genuine and their curiosity about their own bodies becomes our single source of daily amusement. … 

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