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A blog for moms and their families
May 10th, 2010
Moms in Missoula woke up to a special treat on Mother’s Day; “somebody” had added an “O” and an “M” to the “M” on Mt. Sentinel.
The Missoulian’s Arthur Mouratidis (who really has a knack with the camera) forwarded this photo he took of the grand gift to all of Missoula’s moms:
- MM
May 9th, 2010
OK, so perusing numbers from the Census Bureau might not be most people’s idea of a fun Mother’s Day activity, but it is mine. What better way to spend the day than thinking about all the other moms out there in America?
That is surely what Anna Jarvis had in mind when she lobbied for a national Mother’s Day more than 100 years ago. She picked the month of May in honor of her own mother’s birthday, but she always meant for it to be a larger community celebration. That’s why she organized the first public observances in honor of mothers. All our mothers.
That community spirit lives on in Missoula, as evidenced by in the sweet story of “Operation Mom,” in which members of New Hope Christian Fellowship are spending this weekend helping struggling moms get some home improvement projects completed.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 82.8 million mothers in the country. The total fertility rate (average number of births per woman) is 2.1. The most fertile women live in Utah, where the fertility rate is 2.6; the lowest fertility rate, 1.7, can be found in Vermont.
An estimated 37.8 million moms are living with children age 18 or younger – 3 percent live with stepchildren, 2 percent with adopted children and less than 1 percent with foster children.
On the age spectrum, teenagers age 15 to 19 gave birth to 445,045 babies in one year at last count. Women ages 45 to 54 gave birth to 7,349 infants. But the average age of women who give birth for the first time is 25.
As for giving birth, 24,970 babies were born at home and 10,781 were born at free-standing birth centers in 2006, the most recent year statistics are available.
There! Now that you know a little more about the larger mom community, I hope all you other moms out there also feel a little more connected to it on our shared day. Happy Mother’s Day!
- MM
May 7th, 2010
I just got a sneak peek at a Missoulian page we’ll be running for Mother’s Day this Sunday - it’s covered with fabulous photos of moms and little snippets of “the best piece of advice” readers ever got from their mothers.
My favorite, paraphrased: Always use the restroom whenever you have the chance, because you never know when you’ll be near one again.
Now that’s great advice!
Pick up a copy of this Sunday’s Missoulian for this piece of advice and more!
- MM
May 5th, 2010
It’s true – in Missoula, the night before Mother’s Day is way more fun than the actual day of Mother’s Day, thanks to the annual Mother’s Day Eve Bash.
Thanks to Mamalode publisher Elke Govertsen, who is in the midst of organizing the sixth year of the free event (actually, it’s better than free because there are a ton of sponsors who give YOU stuff), moms have a place to party the evening away surrounded by other moms. LOTS of other moms. Last year, more than 450 moms turned out.
And then, of course, you get to sleep in the next morning, which is really what Mother’s Day is all about.
This year’s event will be at Peak Health and Wellness again, on Saturday from 7 to 11 p.m. See you there!
- MM
May 3rd, 2010
I see that Missoula Editor is asking folks to send the Missoulian the best piece of advice they ever got from their mother for publication on Mother’s Day this Sunday. E-mail it, along with your name and phone number, to kwilson@missoulian.com.
With that, here’s Missoula Mom’s best piece of advice: Treat every day like it is Mother’s Day.
We mothers really don’t ask for much. Maybe a homemade breakfast or a nice dinner out. Perhaps a handmade card or an extra-big hug. Possibly some extra time spent together – or extra time apart.
In short, a little extra recognition for all the work it takes to be a good mom. Surely that’s not something we should confine to a single day once a year.
- MM
May 15th, 2009
You may have noticed that copies of a new magazine called Mamalode are being passed around by moms in Missoula, or perhaps you grabbed a copy at the rockin’ Mother’s Day Eve Bash this past Saturday. I managed to snag one before the bash, and immediately sat down and read the whole thing cover to cover.
Mamalode is the newest brainchild from Missoula wonder mom Elke Govertsen. I first met Elke a couple of years back when I interviewed her for a Missoulian story about the Mother’s Day Eve party she organizes each year as a much-appreciated thank-you to local moms.
The free magazine is packed with thoughtful entries from moms of all ages; it also includes a tear-jerker from a local dad and an especially insightful poem from a particularly talented kiddo. Elke says Mamalode will soon be available in stands all over town; a second edition will be coming later this year, and then the magazine will go quartlerly.
Meanwhile, Elke is planning a Mamalode Web site launch party for June 27.
Yeah, and she’s raising two boys, too.
Nevertheless, Elke promised to make “keeping Tyler updated” part of her lengthy to-do list, so I’ll be posting more info on Mamalode as this new enterprise grows.
- Tyler Christensen
May 11th, 2009
My son and I were going to go fishing on Mother’s Day. It’s a theme of sorts – the year I moved to Montana, he got me a set of waders, to underscore the fact that by sheer virtue of living here, I was going to be a fly fisher(wo)man.
This year, we took one look at the rivers and decided, pretty much as we have every May, that maybe the best way to catch fish was to go out for sushi. After which, he got me an ice cream cone. Between that and a phone call from his sister, Kate, who lives in Denver, I was about as happy as a mom could be. More to the point, the ice cream treat reminded me of when the kids were little, and their idea of the fanciest possible breakfast in bed on Mother’s Day was ice cream in a pretty little glass dish. And coffee. Lots of coffee.
I love the grown-up dinners and the grown-up conversations we have now on Mother’s Day, but I confess to missing those early-morning everything-bad-for-you-but-oh-so-good breakfasts, the hushed giggling outside the bedroom door, the spills on the steps. And I also catch myself wondering: Why should ice cream for breakfast be limited to Mother’s Day? Wouldn’t the best way for me to honor my children’s most excellent idea, lo those many years ago, be to sneak a predawn dish every now and then, hmmmm? Talk about starting the day with a smile!
- Gwen Florio
May 11th, 2009
I got a fabulous, hubby-made breakfast (French toast, mmm) after sleeping in for one glorious hour. And I needed the extra zzz’s, too, after partying it up at the Mother’s Day Eve Bash the night before.
Did you do something completely new this Mother’s Day? Or do you have a Mother’s Day tradition? Sherry was just telling me that every Mother’s Day, she and her kids used to go for a bike ride down Pattee Canyon, through the University neighborhood and up the Rattlesnake. That was their tradition.
Whatever you did, I’d love to see some photos of you and your little ones – even if they’re grown-up little ones – on your special day. Send ‘em to me at oped@missoulian.com and I’ll post them on the blog.
- Tyler Christensen
May 10th, 2009
Every day, I am awestruck by the people who share their lives and stories with our newspaper and its readers. This Mother’s Day, Jennifer Groneberg is in my thoughts because of the lovely and remarkably honest story she shared with Missoulian reporter Vince Devlin and photographer Kurt Wilson.
Jennifer is mom to twin boys, Bennett and Avery, and their older brother, Carter. Avery has Down syndrome. And theirs is a story not just of acceptance and adaptation, but of embracing every child for who they are. In this story in Sunday’s Missoulian, Jennifer tells of the grief she felt when Avery was diagnosed with Down syndrome, and of how her other two sons showed her how to move past grieving the Avery she had imagined to cherishing the Avery she received.
“Carter understands Down syndrome because he let Avery teach him what it meant,” she says. “Bennett doesn’t care, because Bennett doesn’t know what it’s like to not have a brother with Down syndrome.”
Now, Jennifer doesn’t know if she would “cure” Avery, even if that were possible. “I love who he is,” she says. “I’d be so scared if you took away the Down syndrome he’d be different.”
You can hear more of Jennifer’s thoughts and see more photographs in our audio slideshow, here.
Happy Mother’s Day, Jennifer. And thank you, for sharing your boys and your story with all moms.
- Sherry Devlin
May 7th, 2009
Just in time for Mother’s Day 2009, we’re kicking off a new blog for moms in Missoula. It’s meant to be a way for us moms – and everyone who has a mom – to stay connected, share stories and trade useful information about the place we call home and the events that matter to us.
I’m new to this whole thing – new both to being a mom and to being a blogger – so it’ll be a work in progess. I’m hoping readers will help guide this site. I’m hoping they will send me ideas, anecdotes, pictures and video. I’m hoping all those amazing moms I know are out there will carve a moment out of their busy lives and drop the rest of us a line.
And I’m hoping you all have a great Mother’s Day!