Opinion Archives - Page 6 of 21

03Sep

Disconnected in 5774

I've been quiet here lately, posting the odd theater ticket giveaway or twitter update. There are several reasons for this but the main one being that I've been traveling with my family in the country where my husband was born. All of my children's first cousins are here in England and we've been visiting their uncles, aunts and grandmother. We also have family coming in from a great distance to spend the Jewish New Year with us. We spent a glorious week in Ireland before coming here, which definitely gave me food for fodder, and I will be writing Read More

21Aug

My Thoughts on Multi-Generational Travel

Posted by The Culture Mom Leave a Comment

As my children are getting older, travel is entering a whole new dimension. I'm happy to say that as a traveling family there is more excitement, more questions about where we're going and what we're seeing, and far more gratitude for going to faraway places. There is also not as much to pack - no more bottles, no more diapers, far less toys. Instead there are travel journals, books to read, iPads and comfortable shoes to pack for all of us. My kids are growing up, and it's making traveling more doable and much more interesting. So when my mother was Read More

09Aug

The Unintentional Opt Out

Posted by The Culture Mom 26 Comments

When my first child was born, I had feelings that I never thought I would have. As a staunch feminist...as the daughter of a mother who's business afforded my college tuition..as an independent working woman who had lived in NYC for 10 years prior to getting married....I was the last person you would have ever thought would choose to stay home with my kids. I was the girl who had spent the first part of my career looking for the right fit and had finally found it in a job that I loved. I was the girl who loved splitting the check while we were dating. Read More

11Jul

Sleep Away Camp Jitters No More

Posted by The Culture Mom 5 Comments

The minute my daughter was born, I started to dream about sending her to a Jewish sleep away camp. Not because I wanted to shake her, but because I knew we wouldn’t be sending her to Jewish day school and I wanted her to embrace our religion in a different way. Also, because I know from personal experience what kind of long-lasting impact it would have on her. Growing up in Atlanta, it was more important to send your kids to Jewish sleep away camp. We were a small community and I was one of only a handful of Jews in my grade. Camp was the best way Read More

07Jul

Mr. and Mrs. ?

Posted by The Culture Mom 20 Comments

A recent Facebook study showed that a third of married women in their twenties decided against adopting the surnames of their husbands, compared to the majority of those in their sixties, according to a new study. It also found 62 per cent of married women in their twenties took on their spouse’s surname, while 74 per cent did in their thirties and 88 per cent did in their sixties. More younger women are embracing feminism today than ever before. When I got married, my husband and I talked about changing my last name, but I resisted at first. I felt Read More

18May

Surfing

Posted by The Culture Mom 1 Comment

Standing in line at airline security this morning, I met a young guy wearing a backpack. Apparently eager for conversation, he asked where I was headed. I told him New York and he said he was headed to San Diego. On a one-way ticket. Never coming back. Me: “Do it now, while you’re young. Life gets more complicated as you get older.” Him: “Yeah, I decided it was time. 40 is sneaking up on me.” He looked about 20-something, I wasn’t sure. Me: “Make these moves while you can. Once you have responsibilities, like a family, it will only get Read More

17May

When Mom Goes Away

Posted by The Culture Mom 1 Comment

I've been away from home a lot more than usual the last few weeks. I've been traveling with a client and have really cranked up the air miles, traveling to Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Charlotte and Washington, DC. The timing collided with the start of a new job for my husband, so I knew it would prove difficult for him. It also coincided with a show I was producing, Listen to Your Mother. But the bulk of my priorities remained at home as the primary caretaker, and I needed to plan to be away for days at a time. Now I'm on the last leg of the tour, Read More

28Apr

My Take on the “Mommy Business Trip” Piece

Posted by The Culture Mom 6 Comments

I know I'm rather late to respond to the ridiculous article “The Mommy Business Trip: Conferences Appeal to Women with a Guilt-Free, Child-Free Reason to Leave Home” that ran in the Wall Street Journal a few days ago and you've probably read countless articles featuring other opinions. But I haven't had a chance until now to respond. Why? I was on a business trip. So, I read the article with great interest at the start, but by the end of the article, I was mortified. Especially when I saw the graphic accompanying the article (see above). The Read More

10Apr

Intuition

Posted by The Culture Mom Leave a Comment

How do you feel about intuition? Do you hear a bell go off in your head when the world wants you to go in a specific direction and do you make your decisions based on what your gut feeling is telling you? Intuition can be very powerful, particularly when you don't even know it's standing right in front of you, trying to tell you something. I'm the kind of person whose life is led with my heart. I tend to lean toward projects and jobs I am hopeful will plug into my passion. This can be both an asset and a flaw. I'm hoping my kids are more rational Read More

26Mar

When it’s Worth the Wait

Posted by The Culture Mom 2 Comments

This past weekend I attended a wedding of an old friend of mine. She’s 42. It’s funny how any age over 40 is considered “old” these days. Personally, I don’t understand that but I have to accept that I, too, am over the hill. Sigh. However, I refuse to believe that it is downhill from here, because it is most certainly not. About three years ago, two very different things happened to my friend at the same time. She suffered a terrible loss when her brother passed away very suddenly and quite tragically. They meant everything to each other. And then Read More