A Note From Our Author

The old Beatles’ song “With A Little Help From My Friends” has taken on a new meaning since my daughter arrived. Now that I have my own company, my maternity leave lasted until my last contraction. I was back on the phone and computer within hours of giving birth. Couple that with trying to take care of my other two children and it was a recipe for disaster! Although I had help from my mother after the birth of my other two children, I really didn’t have the much-needed support of other moms and friends. This time I rallied the troops and found ways that my girlfriends and I could help each other.

1. First, we formed a dinner co-op. For those of you who are not familiar with this concept, several families join together and take turns making dinner for the entire group. So if you have five families, you end up making dinner only one evening of the school/work week and have dinners already made from other families in the group for the rest of the week. This has truly saved my sanity. Between, school pick-up, homework, feeding the baby and everyday errands - not to mention my career – I must admit that evening meals were becoming take-out, leftovers and sandwiches far too often.
2. We’ve also set up “Homework Dates” rather than “Play Dates” so that one mom can help her child as well as one or two other children in the same grade with their homework.
3. In times of emergencies we’ve arranged an “Emergency Day” schedule. Each mother selects the day of the week that she’s usually free. The other mothers in the group then know that if any emergency arises, she can call that person to watch the children or help out as needed.