Navigation

Entries in Interviews (10)

Friday
May072010

Interview: A Q&A With My Mom

I interviewed my mom for the May issue's Editor's Note. Here's the complete Q&A with Cora, the undisputed queen of our clan:

I know you are cute,
I know you are funny.
I know you are sweet,
mom
You're a lot like your mummy.

My mom scribbled that little rhyme to me in an autograph book back in my grade-school days, and it makes me smile to this day. Even though these days we live almost 800 miles apart and both of us lead busy lives, she still manages to help me along on this parenting journey, often with incredible wisdom, always with calm and patience, and usually with her trademark wit.

I thought I'd share a bit of her wisdom and humor by conducting a brief Q&A with my mom, who raised three girls and is a grandparent to one young woman (my mom won't let me reveal my niece's age), a 9-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy.

Why is being a mom so difficult?
Because you have kids. That's what's wrong with this country.

Do you think we moms make raising kids more difficult, or is that our kids' faults?
Of course it's the kids.

Do you think being a mom is fun? Why or why not?
Yes, it's fun just thinking about them knowing that I am still the boss.
No, wait - some of them think they are on a pedestal, too.


What would you consider to be a few of your mothering "mistakes"?
I wish I had not thrown your pinwheel out the car window over the golf course.
I wish I had known that children who put kitties in the refrigerator needed more supervision.
I wish I had kept a closer eye on the kids' dog, before she ate 20 boxes of Camp Fire Girl candy.
I wish I had played more Monopoly with them, rather than finding out that the kids where throwing tomatoes at someone's white convertible passing by on the street.
I wish I had visited the school more so my daughter would not have gotten sent to the principal's office for throwing dirt clods with a boy (Editor's note: That wasn't me).
I wish I had not taken the caramel apples for a Halloween party to Carolyn's class in a Coor's beer box.


What would you consider to be your shining moments as a mom?
When Carolyn earned the top prize for candy sales (thanks, dog).
I did go on a lot of trips with the marching band, against her wishes. You are welcome.
Encouraged the kids to go to college.
Took them on summer vacations to California, Oregon, Texas, Florida, Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming, Bahamas, Mexico and oh, yeah, Las Vegas.
And I sold real estate, all while being a mom.
Whew! I am tired.


What makes a great Mother's Day in your mind?
Having all three of my girls and grandchildren together. If they cannot come, a nice gift will suffice.

Why was Carolyn your favorite child?
Because she is just like me.

Thanks, Mom, and Happy Mother's Day to you and all the moms out there! (Your gift is in the mail.)
Monday
Apr122010

Interview: Tween Expert & Author Rosalind Wiseman

What is the most important message on the minds of tweens these days? That they matter and that they have a voice and want to be heard. That's what tween expert Rosalind Wiseman, author of Queens Bees & Wannabes (which inspired the movie Mean Girls), told me in a video/phone interview last week.

Wiseman offers words of advice to haggard parents such as me, who often finds herself mystified by this irrational, emotional creature that has taken over the body of my adorable little youngster. But the tween years are a critical window of opportunity for parents to be a helpful and credible source of support, she says, and can set the stage for guiding them through such issues as bullying and the lack of self-confidence. The body image issues are also a major factor at this age, which is why Wiseman says she joined forces with DontFretTheSweat.com. The site includes a panel of parenting experts and provides tools for parents and kids to develop confidence, self-esteem, and self-reliance.

Check out her brief interview here:

Friday
Sep042009

Ah, Paradise

I'm stuffed with poke pupu platters and pineapple and Beard Papa's cream puffs. We've slithered down slides at the Paradise Pool, learned about deposed queens at the Iolani Palace, and toured the lovely Grand Waikikian, our home away from home this week.

We're all exhausted, overfed and filled with knowledge of things we didn't know, like the fact that 80% of Hawaii's population lives here on O'ahu.

Kate even took a turn as kid journalist, interviewing O'ahu representatives Rebecca Pang and Sonja Swenson and chatting about Hawaiian culture.

Here's a snippet of her interview:

Friday
May012009

Bark Talk

olive-up-close

It had a been a long, hard day when I finally flopped into the chair the other night. Olive, our still relatively new nearly 2-year-old black Lab mix came over, sat at my feet, put her paw on my knee and stared into my eyes so hard I thought she might actually start speaking to me in my native human tongue.

"What is it, girl?"

Urgent stare. Then she got up on her back legs and put her paws in my lap.

"What do you need?"

She delicately climbed up and carefully worked her 40-pound, muscular body into my lap, licking me calmly yet so hard that I'm surprised I still have skin left on my face. If she could've, I'm convinced she would have crawled inside of me. I had to peel her off and go play with her, despite the fact that it was 10 o'clock at night and I was beat. She was, I believe, trying to tell me that she missed me and wanted "her time." Or she could've just needed me to turn on American Idol. Or maybe she just wanted a cookie. Oh, how I wish I could speak "Dog."

Enter: the "animal communicator," Tim Link. In his book, Wagging Tales: Every Animal Has a Tale wagging_link_1_(which drops today, May 1, Emerald Book Company, $16.95), the Atlanta resident reveals 32 of the "conversations" he's had with a variety of critters, including a praying mantis.

Link is a former telecommunications executive who always had a strong bond with animals but didn't discover his "gift" until he met fellow animal communicator Judi Byers in February 2004. At a seminar, he discovered that he could telepathically speak to animals and "hear" their words. He quickly decided to leave behind corporate America and follow his new-found passion: to give animals a voice.

"When you realize you are meant to do something, it all came together very quickly," Link told me by phone today. Link can use a photo of the animal (or the actual animal in person) to connect with its energy. "It's like intuition, like a mother. She knows when her child needs something or wants something. It's that same type of connection. You can't really explain it, but all you can do is trust it."

In addition to the book and speaking engagements, Link consults with pet owners to help them resolve issues or to just find out what their pet is thinking, when, perhaps, they climb up into your lap and try to lick your face off (I'll have to check back to see if Olive would like to chat with him). He's worked with just about every animal, from snakes and lizards to horses and hedgehogs. He also helps owners find lost pets and to help when an animal is about to or needs to "transition."

"They fully understand the process," he says of the difficult and inevitable time when an animal is at the end of his life. "We need to communicate with them, explaining what the situation is, what they need to do and why this is best. Communication gets rid of all those doubts."

oliveIn fact, communication – and our own positive energy – is the key to having happy pets, he says. His "Cardinal Rule #1" is to always talk to your pets. When you leave the house, tell your pet where you're going and when you'll be home. "When we leave, animals go through a great deal of anxiety," he says. "Before you leave, stand in the room and say, 'I'm going to work. I'll be home in eight hours. I want you to lay down and take a really long nap. I want you to use your litterbox. Or I want you to count the birds.' They like to have a job."

Then visualize it – the animal will pick up the picture or the energy and get the message.

He adds, "Just talking to your animal will make a big difference."

OK, Olive, come here. We need to talk.
Friday
Jan232009

Ema In the News

After writing a blog post about how my mom doesn't like to be called "Grandma" but prefers "Ema," I got a call from a reporter at Maclean's, Canada's national weekly current affairs magazine.

Check out what other non-Grandmas had to say on the topic.