I am a big proponent of continuing education; however with the current economic times, I am really questioning if the debt is worth it for the degree. I recently saw an article questioning if the cost of the college degree is still worth it. Incomes seem to be hovering at the same level with the cost of living increases. When my daughter was born in 2006, the projection for the cost of college when she will be attending in 2024 was close to $300,000. It has increased since then. As a parent of two, I can’t fathom how we will be able to afford that kind of cost. I can only hope that they will …

It’s been a few weeks of summer and I hear the question come up: What do we do with our children? Some coworkers have sent their children to the grandparents for a week. Then the other set of grandparents for the next week. Then they return home and go to camp for the remaining eight weeks or so. There are several camps for kids when they are young, but what about the half days at school during that last week, or what about when they hit age 13? Or if they are away on the family vacation from Saturday to Wednesday and then you have to find care for Thursday and Friday? Drop in childcare is …

The name “Casey Anthony” has become a name that evokes feelings of disgust. Innocent until proven guilty, she still holds the title of “Worst Mother Ever.” Could a mother do that to her own child? As it turns out, severe child abuse and even murder by the mother is not as uncommon as we expect it to be. This particular case has notoriety due to all the unanswered questions at the beginning and the continued disorganization of all the facts. Whether cases appear in the news or not, we have become a society that believes motherhood and nurturing to be natural qualities that all women possess. …

Many students threw their mortar boards in the air this past weekend to symbolize the joyous occasion of leaving an educational institution and moving on to the "real" world. Many parents cried while watching this. My parents always teared up during the milestone ceremonies when I was growing up. I would always laugh. I never fully understood why. Now as a parent, I can empathize more with these feelings. Seeing the bird fly away and embark on a new part of life must be difficult. It must also stir up feelings of your own pride.  Congratulations to the class of 2011! You have come a long way …

In the midst of watching one of the many commentaries regarding the recent killing of America's Most Wanted terrorist, Osama Bin Laden, I heard my daughter ask this question: "Mama, what's a terrorist?" She's five. At that moment, I wondered if for the rest of her life she will be hearing this word uttered on the news and when she rides on public transportation or a plane. I wondered if this has just become a part of life. It sure has been for the past nine and a half years. Bin Laden has likely been one of, if not the most, hunted person on the planet. Many people have felt a sense of …

Abercrombie and Fitch came up with a new bathing suit for girls. It’s a triangle bikini with a padded top and sized to fit girls as young as 8. As you can imagine, this has stirred up some controversy. Here are some of the issues people are having: 1.)    It sexualizes young girls who shouldn’t be sexualized. 2.)    It makes them worried about self image. 3.)    It can shape their behavior and lead them into risky sexual behavior at an early age. 4.)    It teaches them that they are only valued in this society by the way that they look. Why in God’s name would anyone even consider marketing …

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Child abuse happens in many forms such as neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional/ psychological abuse. What would you do if you suspected possible child abuse? My children are still small and I look forward to when they will be able to do things for themselves- bathe themselves, wash dishes, feed the pets, vacuum. Hmm, I guess you could say I look forward to these things for my own sake. But what about fun outside activities like going to the park? Riding a bike? At what age can we just say, “See ya” and let them run about? Over …

My favorite movie of all time is “Back to the Future part II.” I love the way the writers in 1988 envisioned technology for the year 2015. Floating skate boards and flying cars- it appears those won’t be there in the next four years. The telephone and picture frame TVs they portrayed, though? It appears we’re already there. We can already watch movies and communicate face to face with the phone that fits in our pockets. While these advancements are great, they can also be dangerous. With so many crimes happening in the Stone Mountain/ Redan area, I can’t help but wonder about ways to teach …

The Great Recession has put many mothers and fathers back to work at home. It has been a very depressing time for many people, both financially and due to personal morale. Working in the home is an important job, though, and a lot of work that is undervalued. Having done human resources as a profession, I am always thinking of qualities needed to be successful at any given task. Working in the home requires many CEO type qualities that are very important in order to make the home and family successful in its functioning. Here are just a few of the qualities needed: 1.)    Observing what needs…

With the start of spring and the sounds of the ice cream truck already in ear shot, I think back on my childhood with fond memories. Many kids of the 80’s had a large home; they took vacations; they got cars at 16. The economy was booming and life was good. It has changed so much and I can only hope that our children will have memories as fond as ours. More so, I hope they will have as many opportunities as the generations that preceded them. Comparatively, children of today have much less. They receive less at birthdays and Christmas. They have to put up with mom’s cooking more rather than …

Spring is here, which means bathing suit season is around the corner. Unfortunately small children come with the requirement to go swimming at some point during the summer. This means that squeezing into a bathing suit is inevitable. At some point while growing up, we become concerned about how we look and appear to everyone. By our 20s, squeezing into the bathing suit is the dreaded event once the weather gets warm. When we were children, we were free to be ourselves and not notice our imperfections, and especially not notice the imperfections of others. Now we have all the stress of being …

I understand why it’s called “spring ahead” since we jump ahead one hour. However, the whole world seems to move so much slower as a result. I’m sure we can all agree that going to bed at midnight when we thought it was really 11:00 and still getting up again at 6 a.m. is a huge bummer. I’ve often wanted to play the, “What? The time changed already?” card, but I could never bring myself to do it. Now throw kids into what was an already difficult process. I typically do the bedtime song and dance for the kids around 7:30 so I can try to get some things done and maybe have a glass of wine …

What do families and good old houses have in common? The past week has been a fun, yet stressful week of home improvements. In the Stone Mountain/Redan area, there are many old homes with lots of character, and lots of work. Yet, somehow they grow on us. When we were in the process of buying our home, the inspector handed us a long list of all the different problems with the house: the roof needs to be replaced, the wiring trips circuits, the plumbing is old, the crawl space has more problems than is worth listing, but the bottom line the inspector said, “It has a good foundation and won’t …