[The following Junior Society post originally appeared on May 10, 2008. Wishing you the happiest of Mother's Days! - Robert]

That’s me in the picture above, bundled beyond recognition, out for walk with my mom in our Pittsburgh neighborhood. I look a little like Randy in A Christmas Story.

Given that this Sunday is Mother’s Day, I’ve been digging around web and reading about the origins of the celebration. While there’s always a good reason to celebrate mothers, I always assumed it was another holiday fabricated by the greeting card industry but what I learned surprised me. The following excerpt is from a Wikipedia article on the subject, the links however are mine should you feel like doing additional reading.

The United States celebrates Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May. In the United States, Mother’s Day was loosely inspired by the British day and was imported by social activist Julia Ward Howe after the American Civil War. However, it was intended as a call to unite women against war. In 1870, she wrote the Mother’s Day Proclamation as a call for peace and disarmament. Howe failed in her attempt to get formal recognition of a Mother’s Day for Peace. Her idea was influenced by Ann Jarvis, a young Appalachian homemaker who, starting in 1858, had attempted to improve sanitation through what she called Mothers’ Work Days. She organized women throughout the Civil War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides, and in 1868 she began work to reconcile Union and Confederate neighbors.

When Jarvis died in 1907, her daughter, named Anna Jarvis, started the crusade to found a memorial day for women. The first such Mother’s Day was celebrated in Grafton, West Virginia, on 10 May 1908, in the church where the elder Ann Jarvis had taught Sunday School. Originally the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church, this building is now the International Mother’s Day Shrine (a National Historic Landmark). From there, the custom caught on — spreading eventually to 45 states. The holiday was declared officially by some states beginning in 1912. In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother’s Day, as a day for American citizens to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war.

Considering the state of the world today, with wars effecting so many families around the globe, the history of Mother’s Day resonates all the more poignant. My mother lost a brother in the Korean War and saw my father narrowly avoid the Vietnam draft. It’s hard for me to fathom losing a sibling or spouse, let alone a son or daughter to war. Sending out love and prayers to mothers with children in the military seems appropriate today.

My mother would not have chosen to post the photo above - depite the fact that she looks adorable. Me on the other hand - cute but why didn’t someone tell me to sit up straight?! It’s a little hard to see, but look at me rockin’ that 70’s style with a groovy white belt and red houndstooth check polyester pants. Mom, I know there must be better pictures of us - and I’m hoping they’re in your albums, ’cause there not in mine. As I’m unable to be with her on Sunday I’m sending a virtual big kiss and bear hug. Love you Mom.

Now go call your mother!

Experiencing holiday adjida? Need a brief respite? Nothing lowers blood pressure like pictures of a baby elephant and a giant soccer ball.

On course to give CuteOverdose a run for it’s money (minus the baby talk)?  Your new favorite website may well be ZooBorns - a daily dose of adorable baby animals born at zoos and aquariums around the globe.

It only reinforces my theory that anything is cute if it’s small enough.

It’s not unreasonable to think that before your parents were parents their lives were very different…it just might be hard to imagine. Enter My Parents Were Awesome, a reader submitted pictorial archive that offers photographic proof that our parents were once young…and carefree, goofy, romantic, cool and in some instances, well, hot. Feel good images that’ll send you rifling through old photo albums. Here’s a taste…

I came across a great looking website this afternoon called Wire & Twine which sells goods handcrafted by an entrepreneurial group of designers, coders, screenprinters, photographers, artists, moms, dads “and down-to-earth people” in Oxford, Ohio. I was particularly taken with their Momergency Kit - the photos and description are great:

We’ve all been there. Stuck in a doctor’s waiting room full of porcelain figurines with a bouncy toddler for what seems like years. A kid with an itchy tag in their shirt that must come off now..now…NOW! The strap on your stroller that broke about a mile from your car.

These, my friends, are classic examples of a true Momergency. In your single days, these scenarios never would have crossed your mind, but now they can be pivotal moments that can make or break your day.

So we thought long and hard about how to prepare for these situations. What are the things we should never be without when we’ve got the kids in tow? And since our diaper bags and purses are already bursting at the seams, how can we make them all fit into this small bag? And then to top it off, if we get stuck in line at the BMV, how can we use these items to keep our kids occupied so we can maintain both our dignity and our place in line?

With these thoughts in mind, we developed the Momergency Kit.

More than 20 (easily refillable) items and a smart little book (with instructions for 20 activities to entertain a child which require nothing but the contents of the kit) are contained in the drawstring bag.

While you’re browsing Wire & Twine be certain to check out these great felted wool scarves and this organic t-shirt that I love.

Helping a child work through the grief of a pet’s death can be a daunting challenge for any caregiver. Some pets tend to pass on quicker than others - goldfish, frogs and insects for example. North Carolina artist David Barringer has developed a kit to help your kiddo through this process, at least as it pertains to a specific kind of pet. The Dead Bug Funeral Kit arrives with a 32-page Illustrated Buggy Book of Eulogies and ribbon bookmark, grave marker, white clay flower, burial scroll, and pouch of grass seed all packaged amongst spanish moss and tucked in a metal tin casket.

One of the most charming components of this kit is the book containing 15 eulogies and 15 buggy illustrations for Junior’s Ant, Bee, Beetle, Butterfly, Caterpillar, Cockroach, Cricket, Doodlebug, Fly, Grasshopper, Ladybug, Lightning Bug, Praying Mantis, Spider or Stickbug. The poems are eulogies told by children who have lost their pet bugs to fate. Each book and kit is handmade one at a time. Read more or purchase your own here.

When I was a kid and during my baby-sitting years cotton diapers were standard issue. (Yes, I’m just that old.) I’ve also drawn enough blood from my thumbs courtesy of baby pins and laundered enough soiled specimens to fully appreciate the appeal of disposable diapers. However with the advent of Velcro and the plight of our landfills, I know many parents are reconsidering the idea of cloth diapering. Not sure? Here’s another consideration to place in the ‘Pros’ column - they’re now making fitted, Velcro closing, incredibly soft, eco-friendly diapers out of bamboo.

I just got used to the idea that milk could be made from soy and now some genius has figured out how to make fabric out of bamboo. Go figure. But why diapers? Bamboo is 60% more absorbent than cotton and naturally antibacterial and anti-allergic. It’s also incredibly silky soft - a trait that only improves with repeated washings. Bamboo is also easily cultivated and thrives without the use of fertilizers or pesticides.

One of the companies making these wonders is Bumkins. And the kind folks who work there have sent a beautiful bamboo care package to the clubhouse - and you know what that means - giveaway! Leave a comment on this post by midnight this Thursday, August 7th and one randomly selected member will win the following:

• A bamboo fitted diaper with removable booster insert, size large for babies 22-35 pounds
• A three pack of bamboo booster inserts
• A very cute cloth diaper cover

On what seems like the heels of my Mother’s Day post, I did a little digging to see if I could learn anything about the origins of Father’s Day. As I understand it, the celebration was the brainchild of Sonora Smart Dodd – an idea that came to her while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. Her mother had passed and so she was raised by her father and, rightly so, thought there ought to be a day to honor him. His birthday was in June and so it was that Ms. Dodd chose to hold the first Father’s Day celebration in their hometown of Spokane, Washington.

Well, the idea was a hit and in 1926, a National Father’s Day Committee was formed in New York City. Father’s Day was recognized by a Joint Resolution of Congress in 1956 and in 1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of the day to be held on the third Sunday of June.

Nice, right? I like that it’s a holiday born in memory and gratitude by a daughter who thought that her father and all good fathers should be honored with a special day vs. an invention of the greeting card company.

So as you may have guessed that’s my father and I in the picture above - I think taken in the back yard of our home in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. (Is that right, Mom?) While it should come as no surprise, side by side comparisons of this photo and those of myself in my early twenties bear definite father/son similarities. Same full head of hair, similar glasses and I can only hope to carry on the snappy tie tradition (Father’s Day gift, perhaps?). Well, in his honor, I’d like to wish him and dads everywhere a very Happy Father’s Day. (Now go call your dad!)

That’s me in the picture above, bundled beyond recognition, out for walk with my mom in our Pittsburgh neighborhood. I look a little like Randy in A Christmas Story.

Given that this Sunday is Mother’s Day, I’ve been digging around web and reading about the origins of the celebration. While there’s always a good reason to celebrate mothers, I always assumed it was another holiday fabricated by the greeting card industry but what I learned surprised me. The following excerpt is from a Wikipedia article on the subject, the links however are mine should you feel like doing additional reading.

The United States celebrates Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May. In the United States, Mother’s Day was loosely inspired by the British day and was imported by social activist Julia Ward Howe after the American Civil War. However, it was intended as a call to unite women against war. In 1870, she wrote the Mother’s Day Proclamation as a call for peace and disarmament. Howe failed in her attempt to get formal recognition of a Mother’s Day for Peace. Her idea was influenced by Ann Jarvis, a young Appalachian homemaker who, starting in 1858, had attempted to improve sanitation through what she called Mothers’ Work Days. She organized women throughout the Civil War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides, and in 1868 she began work to reconcile Union and Confederate neighbors.

When Jarvis died in 1907, her daughter, named Anna Jarvis, started the crusade to found a memorial day for women. The first such Mother’s Day was celebrated in Grafton, West Virginia, on 10 May 1908, in the church where the elder Ann Jarvis had taught Sunday School. Originally the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church, this building is now the International Mother’s Day Shrine (a National Historic Landmark). From there, the custom caught on — spreading eventually to 45 states. The holiday was declared officially by some states beginning in 1912. In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother’s Day, as a day for American citizens to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war.

Considering the state of the world today, with wars effecting so many families around the globe, the history of Mother’s Day resonates all the more poignant. My mother lost a brother in the Korean War and saw my father narrowly avoid the Vietnam draft. It’s hard for me to fathom losing a sibling or spouse, let alone a son or daughter to war. Sending out love and prayers to mothers with children in the military seems appropriate today.

My mother would not have chosen to post the photo above - depite the fact that she looks adorable. Me on the other hand - cute but why didn’t someone tell me to sit up straight?! It’s a little hard to see, but look at me rockin’ that 70’s style with a groovy white belt and red houndstooth check polyester pants. Mom, I know there must be better pictures of us - and I’m hoping they’re in your albums, ’cause there not in mine. As I’m unable to be with her on Sunday I’m sending a virtual big kiss and bear hug. Love you Mom.

Now go call your mother!

“My son’s at that great age when bringing a flashlight to bed and telling stories about animal shadows is pretty much the best thing ever… Tonight, tired from a very busy day, he fell asleep midway through.” Above is a detail of a photograph by Raul Gutierrez.

Over the weekend I started reading a blog by Raul Gutierrez’ called Heading East. It was like walking into the middle of a interesting conversation and compelled me to start working my way through months of post archives. Raul’s a photographer, family man and an exceptionally good writer. In particular his observations as a new dad with two young sons are smart and poignant and funny. While I absolutely encourage you to ‘head east’ I also wanted to share the following post from February 13, 2006, Dark Waters.

“Do you have a metaphor for sleep? For most of my life I thought of sleep as a dark flowing river. I would often dream of being swept far and fast in the powerful enveloping current eventually finding myself on the banks of some foreign land always a moment before waking.

But last year my wife introduced me to a new metaphor. When our son was falling to sleep she would say she imagined tucking him into a small boat and pushing him out to sea. This is the shorthand we use around the house: “Has the boat launched?” I will ask, and she will shush me and say, “The boat is on shore, but the tide is coming in and we can walk it to the deep water.”

My wife’s image took hold and I dream of rivers no longer, now I see a starlit sea with groups of parents standing in pairs on the beaches gently pushing sailboats, kayaks, and canoes into the inky depths.

Sleep is one of the unspoken fears of new parents. When our children sleep we put our hands to their chests to check their breathing. Night is when sickness strikes. And there is always the terror that one day you will wake and they will be gone. In my new dreams the sight of the boats disappearing into the night is chilling, but I know it is a terror we must accept. Then in my dream stars fall from the sky and in the shadows we parents hold each other and sleep on the beach waiting for dawn. By morning the children are back from their night’s journey, changed by degrees, poking us, and watching us stir. And that’s where the dream pushes into the reality of the new day.

I wake up each morning and look at my son and wonder if this is a day he will remember. For a long time, I found it unspeakably sad knowing none of days of the last year would hold. He would not remember the unfettered joy of playing ball for the first time, he would not remember the discovery of oranges, and if something were to happen to his mother or myself, he would not remember us.

Each night we push him out into the deep and each morning he returns a slightly more complex human being. Our relationship changes as his personality grows. He is learning to say “no”. One day something we will disappoint him and he us. Things will change. And I’ve realized that these first years without memory are for us, the parents. The utter sweetness of these days is necessary not only to face the fears of that dark sea but because love is an abyss and these days give us the courage to dive in.”

Below are photobooth images of Raul’s adorable son. See more on Raul’s Flickr sets or portfolio.

There are so many great bloggers who have recently parlayed their special talents into print. And always striving to adhere to the universal rules of the playground I want to take the opportunity to share (which is rule #2, preceded only by rule #1 which is ‘play nice’) a few great new books and perhaps introduce you to some wonderful new blogs in the process. Given the context of the Junior Society I’ve selected this particular group because their ‘how-to’ books have kid-applicable content with either projects to create with your kids or for your kids. So go do a little exploring and then do a little shopping, adding great volumes to your shelves and supporting these creative ladies in the process.

name: Amanda Blake Soule
blog: Soule Mama
book: The Creative Family

name: Therese Lasky
blog: Softies Central
book: Softies, The Softies Kit

name: Amber Caravan
blog: Kids Craft Weekly
book: Everyday Craft

name: Amy Karol
blog: Angry Chicken
book: Bend the Rules Sewing

name: Kristen Rask
blog: Plush You!
book: Plush You!