Issue link: http://hvparent.uberflip.com/i/1120237
6 Hudson Valley Parent n June 2019 Publisher TERRIE GOLDSTEIN tgoldstein@excitingread.com Editor CASSIDY BRIGHTON cbrighton@excitingread.com Dir. of Consumer Development PAMELA PERRY pperry@excitingread.com Dir. of Business Development KATHLEEN MERZ kmerz@excitingread.com Executive Assistant LESLIE CORTES lcortes@excitingread.com Media Advisor MARY ZAK mzak@excitingread.com Cover Photography MICHAEL BLOOM MichaelBloomPhoto.com Layout & Design ENGLE PRINTING also publishers of MY TripPlanner.com family MY TripPlanner.com family Hudson Valley Parent is published monthly by: The Professional Image Marketing & Public Relations Inc. 174 South Street • Newburgh, NY 12550 Phone: 845-562-3606 • Fax: 845-562-3681 hvparent.com This publication is copyrighted by the publisher. Reproduction without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Hudson Valley Parent welcomes submissions, although we cannot accept responsibility for work submitted nor guarantee publication. R ecently, I came home to a flat of purple petunias on my doorstep from my dad. As I slipped on my paw print-patterned gardening gloves to plant the blooms in the planters on my back deck, I was transported back in time to sunny days spent gardening with my dad. When I was very young, I would head to the garden center at Lowe's and my dad would let me choose what color flower would fill the pots on our front steps. As I got older, I would get covered in dirt as I helped my dad dig holes for the flowers and prepare our small backyard patch for tomatoes and cucumbers. I remember checking for buds every single day. I was so unbelievably thrilled to find my first tomato once it had finally sprouted (only to catch a very hungry woodchuck nibbling on it the very next day). So many of my favorite warm-weather memories are spent covered in dirt in the garden. This month, experts from the Cornell Cooperative Extension explain why growing a garden with your kids is one of the best things to do together. Gardening taught me patience as I waited for buds to bloom and tiny, green tomatoes to blossom into tasty, red ones. Gardening taught me that anything worth it is worth getting a little dirty for. I would slip on my overalls and get dirt under my fingernails and in my hair. But the most important things I gained from gardening were the lifelong memories with my father. I am now grown with a very small garden of my own, but I will never forget planting my first bud with my dad. And the petunias on my doormat prove that he won't forget those special moments, either. Hudson Valley Parent is celebrating other amazing dads this month in honor of Father's Day. We received photo submissions of dads and their children fishing, attending baseball games together and bonding in tons of other ways that warmed our hearts and made me nostalgic of special moments with my father. This Father's Day, one lucky family will enjoy a Hudson Valley Renegades game in a luxury skybox. I will spend it with my dad playing wiffle ball in the driveway and watching The Lion King (our favorite things to do together). Lifelong memories made in the garden CASSIDY BRIGHTON Editor's Journal Throwback to summer days spent outside with my dad (right). Happy Father's Day to all great dads!