Issue link: http://hvparent.uberflip.com/i/648066
6 Hudson Valley Parent n March 2016 Publisher TERRIE GOLDSTEIN tgoldstein@excitingread.com Editor FELICIA HODGES fhodges@excitingread.com Executive Assistant to the Publisher BRITTANY L. MORGAN bmorgan@excitingread.com Media Advisor MARY ZAK mzak@excitingread.com Community Liaison PAMELA PERRY pperry@excitingread.com Web Ad Designer LESLIE CORTES lcortes@excitingread.com Tra c Manager PAM SOSCIA psoscia@excitingread.com Intern COLLEEN THORNTON Layout & Design ENGLE PRINTING also publishers of MY TripPlanner.com family MY TripPlanner.com family baby The HUDSON VALLEY G U I D E 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. A MEMBER OF A fter a 17-year hia- tus from the Hud- son Valley Parent editor's desk, I'm back! The last time I wrote from this space, my son was just starting school and I was busily trying to figuring out how to balance family life with a demanding career. Today, he's in his final semester of college (ac- tually prepping to flip his tassel in a few months!) - and I'm still trying to figuring out how to balance family life and career. You think after all the years of practice, I'd have it down by now, right? Ummm...not quite. The best-laid plans I remember a plan I thought up when I was pregnant that entailed buying organic fruits and veggies in order to make my own baby food. By the time my son was actually ready to eat solid food, it became quite clear that I could not stick to that plan and actually, you know, have a life that involved leaving the house. On to Plan B. Here's what the last dozen or so years of parenthood have taught me: Being a mom is all about the ebb and flow. Some days you're high above the wave enjoying the ride and other days you just try to stay afloat. When the plans you have on paper don't quite match the finished product, you have to just roll with it and hope for the best. It sometimes feels like a huge game of "trial and error" - and often, it is. But you don't necessar- ily have to re-invent the wheel. Picking their brains Tips from experts "in the know" - like Culi- nary Institute of Amer- ica-trained chef Stacey Hawkins, psychology professor Paul Schwartz, and mommy blogger ex- traordinaire Roxanne Fer- ber - help make the path from here to there a little bit easier to navigate. Check out their respective articles about how to make cooking with your children fun, understanding today's adoles- cents and the messier side of parent- ing featured for you this month. Step-by-step Because this adventure doesn't come with any instructions, we parents have to find them however we can. Rest assured that the little hu- mans you share your home with will eventually grow up, move out and come back to you for your expertise with their own little humans. Someday, the student will at last become the teacher. At least that's what they tell me, anyway. In the meantime, I have a college graduation party to plan. Yes, there will be the actual "He got his degree!" thing to celebrate, but trust me when I tell you that a handful of the confetti I'll be tossing will be reserved for the special "I don't have to pay any more tuition!" dance I'll be doing. And yes, I totally plan to dance like nobody is watching. The juggle is real FELICIA HODGES Editor's Journal