Issue link: http://hvparent.uberflip.com/i/669136
6 Hudson Valley Parent n May 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 Advisors MARY ZAK mzak@excitingread.com CHRISTY OLIVIER colivier@excitingread.com Community Liaison PAMELA PERRY pperry@excitingread.com Traf f ic 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 T he one day that makes me as giddy now as my birthday or Christmas Eve did when I was a kid is Mother's Day - and it has been that way since early 1993 when that little plus sign appeared in the window of my E.P.T. Sadly, that was also only the second Mother's Day I had to spend with- out my own mom, but as I had a nursery to put to- gether, it was much more soul-soothing to plan for the pending bundle of joy than it was to remem- ber the sadness of the loss. My mother, Maxine, died from breast cancer on April 19, 1992 - just a few months after her 49th birthday. Because she passed on Easter Sunday, there were flowers every- where - many to commemorate the holy day and even more from friends and co-workers to express sincere condolences. It was such a paradox to me that two vastly different occasions - one so celebratory and one extremely tragic - could both be remembered with flowers. That irony even chal- lenged my olfactory system as the smell of flowers began making me sick to my stomach just after the funeral. As a result, I swore off flowers for a while - all except for one Peace Lily I'd moved to my office. Not only did it thrive quite nicely (it had to be re-planted into bigger pots many times over the years), it thankfully was the one flower that didn't make my stomach do summersaults. Then one Mother's Day, when my son was maybe 8 or so, I glanced outside and saw the empty window boxes that lined my back deck. I remember jumping in my car, hitting up my local garden center and spending a whole lot of moola on bags of soil and containers of colorful annuals. With barely a second thought, I loaded up my car (which took a while) and drove home. But I did refuse all of- fers of help from the fam- ily during the "stuff drag" from my car, down the driveway and to the back yard because it just felt like the planting prep was something I had to do solo. I also remember digging around in the dirt until just before the sun went down - and how much I thor- oughly enjoyed myself. Since then, the planting of the window boxes has become my Moth- er's Day ritual. I even shop at the same gardening center as I did all those years ago. Simply strapping on my garden- ing gloves, plugging in my head- phones and enjoying a huge chunk of the day is my gift to myself. It's just a tiny way to self-pamper - an indulgence that settles my spirit as much as it magnifies my home's curb appeal. If the mom in your life is more into things that are a bit off the beat- en path - or if you happen to be that mom - make the day about whatev- er makes her or you feel good. But, please, if she is into spa days or enjoying a meal that she doesn't have to cook, it's not too late to run out and buy her a gift certificate or make reservations. Enjoy the day however you like. How my thumb turned green FELICIA HODGES Editor's Journal