Moms of Boys

The Back Surgery

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:25:24 -0400

Sorry to be AWOL from the site the past few weeks, ladies. I'd been having pain in my left shoulder blade and arm since mid-July. I eventually had an X-ray and an MRI that showed a large herniated area from a disc in my upper back (cervical spine region, which is confusing, since cervical has always meant something else to me). Anyway, there was weakness in my left arm, which concerned the doctor so I had back surgery this past Monday, August 4th, which was one day after my youngest son's 8th birthday party and a few weeks before the chaos of a new school year. Isn't this the way moms always plan their own schedules -- by how it will affect the kids? Anyway,

Oldest son's birthday/Message Board Highlights

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:04:31 -0400

Hi Ladies,

I hope you are having a great summer so far. Happy July 4th! My oldest son, Billy, was born on July 4th in 1991, so we celebrated his 17th birthday yesterday. 17???? I still remember how his tiny hand fit in mine when we walked across the parking lot; for some reason every time I think about holding his hand like that to protect him, I get all teary-eyed. Maybe it's because he will be going to college next year, and I know that I won't be around to protect him, so to speak, any longer. I know that he's an extremely responsible, good-hearted young man, and I know he will make good decisions; still, I worry about all that is out there. I also ache at the thought of him no longer living in this house. He and I have such similar tastes in things, and I find we share so many thoughts. I love watching The Office or The Colbert Report with him because our senses of humor are very much alike. I just know I'm going to miss him so much as a son - but also as a friend.

Getting sentimental

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 23:09:24 -0400

I was going through some old photos today, trying to get organized (a neverending job for me); there were a lot of my oldest son, who is a rising senior in high school and will be 17 in July. I got very sentimental, especially when I came across the School Days scrapbooks that I'd gotten for my two oldest boys -- a book to put their school photos in each school year.

Vote for website please

Mon, 26 May 2008 11:30:00 -0400

Hi ladies, In my daily routine and the boys' schedules, one of the things I like to do when I can is to watch the Ellen Show. I love her laid-back, clean sense of humor and think she is quite a natural comedian. I noticed on her website for the show that people can write in and let them know about favorite websites. I'd greatly appreciate it if you were to let them know about www.momsofboys.org -- I have the link posted below, or you can go to her site at www.ellen.warnerbrothers.com and click on the Be a Part of the Show page where the website question is way down near the end.

http://ellen.warnerbros.com/show/respond/?PlugID=9

Thanks so much! Sharon

USA Today

Thu, 08 May 2008 00:05:17 -0400

Check out the May 7th edition of USA Today! House of Testosterone is mentioned in Craig Wilson's Final Word column. Thanks, Craig!! I've been doing lots of radio interviews lately and have been very busy with baseball schedules for my guys (including keeping up with which car each boy left their baseball equipment bag in). Thanks to those of you who have come to my book readings in North Carolina. I really appreciate it!! Hang in there, Sharon

Book reading dates for House of Testosterone

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 22:30:00 -0400

The paperback edition of my humor book, House of Testosterone - One Mom’s Survival in a Household of Males – will be in book stores by mid-April. There will be 8 brand new essays in the book that were not in the hard cover edition. This one has a different cover (little boy on front). See home page for a photo of cover. Here is a list of my upcoming book readings:

Friday, April 25th, 7:00 — Quail Ridge books, Raleigh, N.C. — Ridgewood Shopping Center by T.K. Tripp’s on Wade Avenue

April 29th, 7:30 - Barnes & Noble, Greensboro, NC

Tuesday, May 6th, 7:00 - Barnes & Noble, Cary, NC

May 9th, 7:00 — Barnes & Noble, Fayetteville, NC

I’d love to meet moms of boys in those cities! Hey, it’s an excuse to get out of the house! Call some friends, meet for dinner, and then come hear me read some stories you can probably relate to very well. A lot of the book is not JUST for moms of boys; the essays are what all mothers and in many cases, all women can relate to (communicating with husbands, etc.).

Boys & reading

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 22:20:00 -0400

Last Friday, I was on the phone with someone about a communications project I’m working on with my church when I glanced at my watch and realized Jason, my 7-year-old was not home from school yet. His bus usually dropped him at 4 or a little after, and it was 4:15. Most days, I’m aware of the time and am listening for the bus to stop up the street. So I told the person I was talking to that I had to check on my son. I asked my older two boys (ages 16 and 13) if Jason had come inside and possibly gone back out to play without my knowing, but I hadn’t heard any sibling fights (which usually escalate when Jason gets home, especially if someone has eaten the last of the Bagel Bites). No, he had not come in, the boys said. I went to the refrigerator to get the school magnet with the phone number on it so I could call and see what had happened to the bus. As any parent knows, this is about the time you start to worry, and your mind starts racing, even thinking back to remember if there’d been any sirens in the past few minutes. That feeling in the pit of your stomach. By this time it was 4:20.

BREAKING NEWS

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:20:00 -0500

Yesterday for about a 35 minute interval, my dirty clothes hampers were all empty at the same time!!!! What a wonderful sense of accomplishment!! Of course they are full again now, but at least there was that brief, beautiful moment . . .

Waiting for the Snow

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:10:00 -0500

When you live in central North Carolina as I do, you usually find yourself right on the snow/rain line in winter weather. Our winters here are mild, relative to most of the rest of the country, but we do have our cold spells, too (had 20 inches of snow in one storm during 2000). Yet, the precipitation and the cold never occur simultaneously very often, meaning snow is not that common. We haven’t had measurable snow here in four years, and my three sons have been hoping for it winter after winter. I’ve told the guys that maybe we should drive the four hours into the mountains where snow falls frequently, but they insist it’s not the same as it snowing at your home and being able to play outside in your own yard and then come inside to warm up. I also think it has something to do with the fact that at home, they also have all their video games and DVDs, etc. to ward off boredom when they grow tired of playing outdoors.

Merry Christmas

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 17:20:00 -0500

I hope you all are having a happy holiday season. For those of us celebrating Christmas, now the clean up task begins of getting the house to look the way it did before all the wrapping paper, empty boxes, and those little twist tie things covered the floor.
But of course, the real meaning of Christmas comes through in other ways. The Christmas Eve church service last night was especially meaningful, even though, Jason, my 7-year-old, had to sit in my lap since the church was so packed, and he fell asleep and drooled on my shirt.