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Excuse My Dust!

Posted in About me, inspiration, Kids, Parenting, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 29, 2011| 1 Comment »

Cleaning and scrubbing

can wait till tomorrow . . .

for babies grow up

we’ve learned to

our sorrow . . .

So quiet down cobwebs . . .

dust go to sleep . . .

I’m rocking my baby

and

Babies don’t keep!!

Over thirty years ago, when my eyesight was keener and my fingers more nimble, I meticulously stitched those words into a wall hanging for my sister who was awaiting the birth of her first child. A few years passed and I had children of my own. And even though I didn’t have a little wall hanging to remind me of the sentiment, I never forgot the message behind those few simple words.

As each of my children entered the world and grew up in what seems like a nanosecond, I experienced first hand how “babies don’t keep.” Being mindful of the words I once stitched, I set my priorities early on and quit my job to care for my children. My goal was to raise bright, responsible, and caring individuals in the relatively short amount of time I had them at home. Moments, like watching their first wobbly steps, saying goodbye to them at the kindergarten gate, feigning calm during their frightening driving lessons, and dropping them off at college, etc., were bittersweet ones. Recognizing fully that each milestone reached was just another step towards my goal, I also acknowledged that it was another step towards their independence. I knew we would never pass this way again and nothing was more important to me than them.

That’s not to say, though, that I never lost perspective. There were times that I turned into an occasional, PMS-possessed, crazed mom! When the weariness of refereeing between bickering kids and when the endless washing, cleaning, cooking and driving devoured my life, I was hard-pressed to remember the words of the poem. But somehow these words would gradually float back into my consciousness and help me adjust my perspective.

The kids are all out of the house now and, thankfully, they still call to chat and ask for recipes. They’re off doing their own things, but I still think about the “Babies Don’t Keep” poem. I’ve taken that poem and transformed it into a message that applies to something broader – life. Life is all about choices and priorities, right? For me, my family and friends are high priorities, but my house, not so much. I’ll never be a tidy housekeeper like my mom or some of my friends, because having a clean house just isn’t important to me. My house isn’t filthy, by any means, but there’s huge room for improvement! But because I’ve learned that kids grow up fast and, more importantly, I’ve learned that life passes by much too quickly, I do the things I want to do and not have to do!

So beware, be prepared, and take caution when you enter my home! But most of all remember these words:

Cleaning and scrubbing

can wait till tomorrow . . .

for dreams disappear

I’ve learned to

my sorrow . . .

so let there be cobwebs . . .

dust bunnies mate . . .

I’m living life fully

’cause

life doesn’t wait!

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Hate is a Four-Letter Word

Posted in About me, Helping Others, inspiration, Kids, Parenting, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 19, 2011| Leave a Comment »

The boy is not yet five-years-old, but he is already developing a terrible and serious affliction. That it’s a life-altering affliction is sad, but that his family is most likely passing it on to him is frightening. His symptoms? Displaying a hardening of the categories. The diagnosis? Developing prejudice. The prognosis? Due to the early onset of symptoms, intervention is critical. Only time will tell the true severity of his affliction.

The back-story: A few days after Christmas my son was in a sporting goods store trying on ski goggles. Looking down while adjusting the fit, he heard a child’s voice address him with these words, “I HATE Asians!” Without even looking at my son’s face and without losing a step in his stride, this child stopped my adult son in his tracks with those ugly words. My son wondered how someone so young could already hate an entire group of people and how this little boy had the nerve to walk up to a stranger and spew hatred. There’s no doubt that this little boy did not develop a hatred of Asians, and who knows what else, all by himself. Like the lyrics from the Rogers and Hammerstein song “You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught” point out, this child had to be taught to hate. The words from this song seem more pertinent than ever:

You’ve got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You’ve got to be taught
From year to year,
It’s got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff’rent shade,
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You’ve got to be carefully taught!

After hearing my son tell me of his experience in the store, I remembered a scolding I once received from my dad when I was a child. I must have said something in passing to my parents about hating something, because I distinctly recall my dad gently pulling me aside and telling me to be very careful about using the word “hate.” He explained to me that hate was a very powerful emotion and that the word “hate” should never be used casually. “You can dislike someone or something, but don’t ever hate,” he said. I’m proud that my dad, an immigrant, and my parents, both of an ethnic minority, rose above the hurt of prejudice in their lives to teach their children to be more accepting and tolerant of the differences in people.

We need to be more aware of our behavior as we go about our everyday lives. The result of our insignificant actions may have great impact. Often times generalizations are made as a result of a single encounter. In particular, as adults we need to be more careful of what we say or do in front of children and young adults. Soon the future of our world will be in their hands. Prejudice is adopted by children like a bad habit and this cycle needs to be broken.  If we have any hope for world peace, we need to teach by example, on a daily basis, the power of acceptance and tolerance. Let us not define ourselves or others by color, race, age, religion, political beliefs, gender, disability, social class, ethnicity, etc. Let our legacy be based in the hearts and thoughts that bind us together and not in the classifications that we let divide us.

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Hot Mushroom Turnovers

Posted in About me, Holidays, Parenting, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 7, 2010| 10 Comments »

November 1982. That’s what it reads on the upper left-hand corner of a slightly tattered, grease-spotted, magazine page. There’s no additional clue to reveal the identity of the magazine from which I carefully tore out the page. That I saved this page all these years is impressive, but what is incredible to me is that in those early-parenting days I had enough time to read a magazine, let alone had the ambition to make the recipe on the page. Having an eighteen-month-old baby who never slept took its toll out on me back then. So why on earth would a sleep-deprived, working, young mom clip out a recipe for a fancy holiday hors d’oeuvre, when she barely had time to make herself a sandwich? I’m sure it was wishful thinking on my part that my baby would eventually be like others and take a four hour nap instead of a twenty-minute one or that I’d eventually be able to leave the house to make friends and have the energy to entertain! Ever the optimist!

Well, that baby grew up and sleeps quite a bit these days. Somehow I survived his sleepless ways and am thankful that I hung on to that page and recipe all these years. The Hot Mushroom Turnover recipe has become a family favorite. These delicate little turnovers are made with a forgiving cream-cheese pastry and filled with the goodness of fresh mushrooms, bits of onions, rich sour cream, and fragrant thyme. They’re great for holiday entertaining because you can freeze them unbaked –  popping them into the oven when you have company or just when you have a craving for them!

Hot Mushroom Turnovers

Ingredients:
1 – 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups + 2 T all purpose flour, divided use
1/2 + 3 T cup butter, softened, divided use
1/2 pound mushrooms, minced
1 large onion, minced
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves
1 egg, beaten

Directions:
1. In a large bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat cream cheese, 1-1/2 cups flour, and 1/2 cup butter until smooth. Shape into ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile in 10-inch skillet over medium heat, melt 3 T butter. Add mushrooms and onion and cook until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in sour cream, salt, thyme, and 2 T flour; set aside.

3. On floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll half of dough 1/8-inch thick. With a floured 2-3/4-inch round cookie cutter or inverted glass, cut out as many circles as possible. Repeat.

4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

5. Onto one half of each dough circle, put 1 teaspoon of the mushroom mixture. Brush edges of circles with egg wash, using a small brush. Fold dough over filling. With fork, firmly press edges together to seal. Prick tops with fork.

6. Place turnovers on ungreased cookie sheet and brush tops with remaining egg wash.

7. Bake 12-14 minutes until golden.

Makes about 3-1/2 dozen.

Linnell’s Notes:
1. Do not attempt to put more than 1 teaspoon of filling into the turnovers. The turnovers may not seal correctly or may burst while baking if they are over-filled.

2. The onions should be minced smaller than the mushrooms. The mushrooms shrink while they are cooking. Ultimately you want both components to be of the same size.

3. I seem to always have leftover filling. Either use the extra filling for something else (topping for Brie?) or double the amount of pastry dough.

4. In a pinch I think puff pastry sheets could be used instead of making scratch pastry.

5. If you freeze them, make sure you bake them a little longer.

Enjoy!

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Mom’s Baked Custard

Posted in About me, Parenting, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 10, 2010| 5 Comments »

“I sound like Darth Vader,” I moan to my husband. “What?” he says as he puts the newspaper down. “I sound like Darth Vader. I can hear myself breathing.” As I sit there listening to my loud, rattling breathing and contemplate whether to say, “Luke, I am your father,” my husband looks at me and just shakes his head. My nose is chapped and red and I have flat, lopsided, bed-hair. I remind him, “You said for better or worse, remember?”

Supposedly there are over 200 viruses that cause the common cold and, according to Wikipedia, adults average two to four infections a year and children average up to six to twelve infections a year. I’m in the throes of the first cold I’ve had in over two years, so I guess I’m not average. But whether it’s due to the cold itself or the groggy side effects of the cold medications or maybe a combination of both, I’m feeling a little nostalgic and crave two comfort items from my childhood:

1. A tall glass of 7-Up or ginger ale placed on my night stand is a must to quench my parched mouth during the night. But the most important part of this ritual is the use of a straw. When I was a kid, my mom always put a straw in my drink to make it easier to sip it during the night. Because I deem my mom as all-knowing, a straw is an essential element to my recovery. Basically, the only time straws are pulled out of the drawers in my house, is when someone is sick.

2. When my siblings and I were kids and were sick, my mom would make baked egg custard from scratch. It was the only good thing about being sick and is among my best comfort food memories. I looked forward to getting those little Pyrex custard cups filled with golden egg custard, lightly browned on the edges and sprinkled with nutmeg in the center. It was a smooth and nourishing treat that slid deliciously down my throat.

Since I’m battling a nasty rhinovirus right now, I’m sending my husband out to buy milk. Nothing will make me feel better than a bowl of my mom’s baked custard. And because the cold and flu season is approaching, I’m sharing her recipe with you.

Mom’s Egg Custard

Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk
3 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dash of salt
Ground nutmeg

Directions:
Beat all ingredients, except nutmeg, together well. Pour into 4 custard cups. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Place cups into a baking pan. Pour hot water into the pan halfway up around the custard cups. The water level should be at the same level as the top of the custard. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serves 4-6, depending on the size of the ramekins or custard cups.

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Of Halloween Past

Posted in About me, Aging, Holidays, Kids, Parenting, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »

“What happened to your house?” the little boy said as he quietly stood at my front door. I eyed him with a puzzled look and replied, “What do you mean?” But just as soon as I said those words, it dawned on me – I knew exactly what he meant. I squatted down to his level and said apologetically, “I’m so sorry. My boys grew up.” This little boy, dressed up as a devil, had come trick-or-treating at my home with the anticipation of finding my traditionally scary-looking house, but instead he found only a few fake spider webs strewn across some bushes. As I closed the door behind him, I felt the weight of his question and thought about what had happened to my house.

Halloween was always a fun time around our home. “What should I be for Halloween, Mommy?” was a question I anticipated every October 15th. Costumes were either purchased at a store or made by me – sometimes in advance, but most often at the last minute. And selecting which treats to pass out was always a dilemma. Being a dental hygienist, I didn’t like to pass out sugary sweets, but every year I relented when my kids pleaded that it wasn’t cool to pass out toothbrushes or dental floss. Other Halloween memories involved delivering secret “BOO” treats to neighbors. We would do reconnaissance by driving around the neighborhood to see which family did not have a BOO sign on their front door and later when it was dark, we’d sneak off and place a bag of treats on the doorstep, ring the doorbell, and then run like the dickens!

The most fun Halloween memories, though, are always centered around decorating the house. After my children were born, I started collecting little whimsical pieces of decorations, but as the children grew older they wanted to be more involved in the decorating. My sons, in particular, had their own ideas about how to transform our house for Halloween. With their help our Halloween decorations got more elaborate and progressively creepier. One year a skeleton hung from an oak tree in front of our house, but the next year bloody-looking, fake body parts joined it. Eventually, shrieks, screams, and bone-chilling music drifted out of a window and floated down the driveway. Playing the eerie music on our karaoke machine led to an unusual use of it – the boys discovered that by using the karaoke’s microphone, they could scream into it and scare unsuspecting trick-or-treaters. One son would man the microphone while the other peeked out the front window. If they knew the trick-or-treater’s name, they would personalize their ghostly greeting like this, “KYLE!!! . . . What are you doing heeeere? . . . I wouldn’t come any clooooser if I were yooouu . . . !” Add some swirling fog and orange-colored spotlights to the mix and our house evolved into one scary destination.

Then it happened. First one son went away to college and then the second one followed him. Although my daughter was still home, she was not into the gore of Halloween or into decorating the house. I enjoyed the “feminine” side of Halloween as my daughter grew up, but it just wasn’t the same without the boys’ antics.

Since the kids left, Halloween has always stirred up feelings of empty nesting in me; I miss my kids most around this time of the year. But with feelings of empty nesting come feelings of renewal and revival. I look forward now to going over to my son’s new home to see what gross and eerie scenes he’ll create with a bin of slightly used body parts and the old karaoke and fog machines of his youth! So to all the kids in his new neighborhood . . . BEWARE!

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Golden Beet and Pomegranate Salad

Posted in Parenting, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on October 25, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The bright orange color of golden beets combined with the rich red of pomegranate seeds make this salad a lovely fall dish, but mention beets and pomegranates to almost any mother and I bet her response will be “STAIN.” Both beets and pomegranates are well known for their stain-making abilities. Just ask my kids why for many years I wouldn’t let them eat pomegranates. Pomegranates are like piñatas – you have to work hard, before you are rewarded with a spray of treats! A spray, though, hardly describes the scene I found on what would be my kids’ last day of eating pomegranates in our house. Explosion is a far better word. As I approached my kids sitting at the nucleus of the explosion, my eyes took on a wild-eyed look that only a mother with three children who had just turned her white kitchen into a red polka-dotted one could have. I looked at them. They just sat there, looked back at me, and said, “What?” If not for a kitchen remodel that occurred years later, I’m sure I’d still find pomegranate juice stain somewhere in the kitchen!

Even if you think you don’t like beets, try this recipe. You might be pleasantly surprised!

Golden Beet and Pomegranate Salad
Recipe from Elise Bauer’s Simply Recipes

Ingredients:
3 golden beets
1 cup diced red onions
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup chicken broth (or vegetarian broth for vegetarian option)
3 Tbsp Triple Sec or other orange-flavored liqueur
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 cup pomegranate seeds
Salt
2 cups arugula and butter lettuce leaves
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions:
1. Cook the beets – either boil them for 45 minutes or roast them at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour. Let cool. Peel and dice into 1/2-inch cubes.

2. In a medium skillet over high heat, bring diced beets, onion, vinegar, broth, liqueur, sugar, and orange peel to a boil, stirring often, until liquid is reduced to 2 Tbsp, about 5 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

3. Stir in pomegranate seeds into the beet mixture and salt to taste. Serve on top of salad greens on individual plates. Sprinkle with feta cheese.

Serves 4.

Linnell’s Notes:
The beet mixture could be made ahead. Before serving, stir the pomegranate seeds into the beet mixture. I added a little freshly ground black pepper to the beet mixture. For my greens, I mixed baby spinach leaves and a spring salad mix together. I plated this salad on a beautiful blue platter (complementary color of the orange beets) instead of individual plates. This delicious salad really does not require any additional salad dressing, but if you feel the need for dressing, either make a pomegranate vinaigrette or buy a good brand of raspberry vinaigrette.

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Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Posted in Helping Others, Kids, Parenting, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , on October 6, 2010| 1 Comment »

Heat up those ovens and start your baking! Now is the time to consider sending out care packages to all the first-time-away-from-home college students you know! Just think about the smiles on their faces when they receive your packages in the mail! Here’s a recipe from the famous Dorie Greenspan for Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies that are easy to make and travel well. The combination of espresso, chocolate, and butter will go great with all the Starbuck’s coffee students use to fortify themselves. For more ideas of what to include in care packages, check out my post College Care Packages.

Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 tablespoon boiling water
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped, or ¾ cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)

1. Dissolve the espresso in the boiling water, and set aside to cool to tepid.

2. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth.

3. Beat in the vanilla and espresso, then reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until it disappears into the dough. Don’t work the dough much once the flour is incorporated. Fold in the chopped chocolate with a sturdy rubber spatula.

4. Using the spatula, transfer the soft, sticky dough to a gallon-size zipper-lock plastic bag. Put the bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and roll the dough into a 9-x-10½ -inch rectangle that’s ¼ inch thick. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so it doesn’t cause creases. When you get the right size thickness, seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or for up to 2 days.

5. GETTING READY TO BAKE: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

6. Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the firm dough out onto the board and, using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife cut the dough into 1½-inch squares. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets and carefully prick each one twice with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet.

7. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The shortbreads will be very pale – they shouldn’t take on much color. Transfer the cookies to a rack.

8. If you’d like, dust the cookies with confectioners’ sugar while they are still hot. Cool the cookies to room temperature before serving.

Makes 32 cookies.

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The Cookie Jar

Posted in About me, Parenting, Recipes, tagged , , , , , on September 20, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?

Who, me?

Yes, you!

Couldn’t be!

Then who?

For some reason, bouncing my kids up and down on my knees and reciting this little nursery rhyme with them always brought smiles to our faces. Smiles because we were being silly and having fun, but also because the mere mention of cookies made us happy! In a post I wrote last week called The Way We Were, I mentioned that one of my sons and his girlfriend just bought their first home. I wanted to give them a little gift – something that somehow always makes a house a home – so I bought them a cookie jar! After baking three different types of cookies, I filled the jar, tied a bow on it, and then attached a tag that read, “Good for One Refill.” Many old friends and new neighbors have come by to say hello to the proud new homeowners – some even bearing gifts of much welcomed plates of cookies. How perfect that my son and his girlfriend already have a cookie jar in which to store them! My only question is, why isn’t a “Cookie Jar” called a “Cookies Jar”? Who stores only one cookie in a jar and who can only eat just one cookie?

Here’s a good, basic oatmeal cookie recipe that I got from a friend many years ago and it’s one of the cookies I made for my son’s new cookie jar.

Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar (I used Splenda instead)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup orange-flavored Craisins
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
1. Beat together butter and sugars until creamy.
2. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well.
3. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir into butter-egg mixture.
4. Stir in oats, Craisins, and nuts. Mix well.
5. Drop by the tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy!

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The Way We Were

Posted in About me, Aging, Parenting, tagged , , , , , , on September 14, 2010| 7 Comments »

“How long are you going to stay?” I asked my oldest son who was home for a visit. Sitting on the family room sofa with his eyes glued to his laptop computer and his fingers rapidly moving across the keyboard, he nonchalantly said, “Only a couple of days. I have to get home.” For a split second I wanted to say, “Wait . . . this is your home . . . ” but I caught myself and calmly replied, “Okay.” Intellectually, I knew what he said was true – he hadn’t lived here for some time – but emotionally it was hard for me to digest. For some reason I hadn’t seen it coming; I hadn’t prepared myself for the day when my children would no longer consider this family home their home. That particular conversation took place several years ago and now I find those same emotions beginning to resurface.

A rubber skeleton, four years worth of high school prom photos, a pair of gold sneakers with wings, ceramic projects, a blue rope light, stacks of college books and papers, and a closet full of clothes no longer worn are all that’s left in my second son’s room. As I searched his room for things that I could pack and take over to his newly purchased home, reality hit me again. His room, this once messy boy’s room, is no longer just that and this home, this once chaotic, busy home, is no longer his home.

Again, it’s not like he’s lived at home for a while now, so I should be used to him being gone. For the last eight years, he’s lived in dormitories, apartments, and condos, but because those residences were deemed temporary, his home was always our family home, at least in my mind. Now he has a new house, a new place to call his home.

Purchasing your first home is a huge milestone. Who doesn’t remember the excitement of owning your first place? I’m ecstatic for him and his girlfriend of nine years, because I know big plans lie ahead and good things are coming their way. And having one of my children settling down not too far from our family home is this parent’s dream and consolation for the momentary sense of loss I feel.

Another positive way of looking at things is that by his buying a house, I’m not losing another child from my home, but I’m gaining another room! I’ve always wanted a workroom that I could spread out and create in and now that can become a reality. The family room wet bar, once my craft area, can now go back to its original purpose. My husband, too, is regaining valuable real estate by taking two bikes and a rusty lawn mower out of our garage and over to our son’s garage.

At some point in time all my children will be happily ensconced in their own homes. These rites of passage will be excitedly met by them and joyfully accepted by me and my husband. Time marches on and things constantly change, but don’t mind me, if I occasionally slip back in time and remember the way we were.

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A Sideline Perspective

Posted in About me, Kids, Parenting, tagged , , , , , , on August 18, 2010| 3 Comments »

A short volley darts across the net. My son starts to run towards the ball. I watch intensely as he scrambles to salvage the point in a district championship tennis match. With baited breath I wait to see if he’ll get there in time. I hear someone yell out, “Get it, Kevie!” Oops! That someone was me! I thought I had my emotions under check, but the words just kind of popped out of my mouth. To put this incident into proper perspective, “Kevie,” the youngster in this photo, is now in his mid-twenties and likes to be called Kevin these days! The point I described above was played just last week. I guess not much has changed – it’s just as hard watching my kids play sports now as it was when they were young.

I thought I’d learned my lesson to “zip my lips” during sports activities when my second child started playing soccer at age five. Because he was stocky and strong, the coach assigned him to the position of goalie. Playing this position was not fun for my son because it involved long periods of time just standing around when the ball was at the other end of the field. And in my case, this was not a fun position for me to watch my child play either. Anxiously, I would keep an eye on him, the lone figure standing in front of a huge goal, trying to fend off a bunch of charging offensive players. Sometimes when the ball came down the field towards him, I would yell out, “Watch out!” or “Get it!” or “Here it comes – be ready!” Then after one particular match, he came off the field crying. Alarmingly, I said, “What’s wrong?” He sobbed, “Mom, why are you yelling at me?” I didn’t think I was yelling at him as much as I was yelling precautions to him. Lesson learned either way. No more calling out from the sidelines and if anything escaped from my mouth it was only positive reinforcement.

Three children and three sports amounted to a lot of sideline sitting. Even though, I don’t play tennis, I always tried to give them a pep talk and remind them of certain strategies before they entered the court for a match. If people asked if I played tennis, I always answered, “No, but I learned the game through osmosis.”  Watching over a decade of lessons, three times over, I was bound to pick up a thing or two.

Moms are their children’s cheerleaders in life. We dream their dreams with them. We live vicariously through them. This cheerleading doesn’t automatically stop when a child turns a certain age. Whatever the endeavor and whatever the age of the child, you can bet there’s probably a mom in the background somewhere silently, or in my case not so silently, rooting for her child. Just ask my mom.

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