As Mother’s Day 2012 approaches, we have to ask, is the Women’s Movement moving backwards?

Often times, as a working mom surrounded by strong, professional women, I forget that we are not immortal. We have weaknesses and fears, failures and setbacks. So many of us bounce back from them but, many of us have to jump over a series of serious hurdles before we can bounce back... One of the best ways for women to overcome challenges and face them head on is to embrace the strong network of female friends that we have. Lean on your sister, biological or adopted, and let her lean on you.

In less than one month, I’ll be taking part in a bike race that happens to be sandwiched between 5K runs.  I haven’t met many other moms who take on competition with the level of intensity that I do. Last week I took advantage of being on school vacation, which fell four weeks after my hubby’s school vacation, by scheduling some extra-long runs and bike rides.

May is almost here which brings my mind to all the upcoming milestone celebrations.

There will be weddings, commencement excercises, Mother's Day, Father's day...and a host of other "bringing the family together" events.

Our multigenerational nest enjoyed a famiy wedding this past weekend. My husband's cousin was married. She was the flower girl in our wedding (14 years ago), and our son served as the ring bearer for her.

Do you ever look around your house and wonder how you accumulated so much stuff? Sometimes I’m puzzled by the sheer amount of things my three-person family has managed to cram into a tiny apartment. And we also pay a monthly fee for an overflow storage facility, because not everything fits into our living space.

There are many categories of stuff in my life. The three biggies are as follows (excluding the exorbitant overflow storage unit):

“Watch out for Balls” reads the sign in the private, ocean-front, golf-course that I pass through on my weekly long runs. In addition to posting a sensible fear, this sign is also a signal for me to literally speed up.  My mom’s best friend was once struck in the hand by a golf-ball as she ran through this course. Her hand swelled and was black and blue for weeks.

There are two more months left before this school year ends. Summer break will come and then my youngest will enter kindergarten, in August.

I’ve mentioned before I’m not the biggest fan of play dates. They just aren’t my thing. Thank goodness, for my little guy, my mother-in-law enjoys them.

One of the reasons I’m currently stepping back, around the corner, and out of site with play dates is due to kindergarten. That seems to be the main topic of conversation.

Since there are so few practicing Catholics in my generation, my own mother did double duty at my daughter’s baptismal ceremony as grandmother and godmother.  I found the perfect gift for her, a pair of gold studded, cranberry colored Ugg sandals complete with the signature tuft of Australian wool in the foot-bed.

According to a report by Safe Kids Worldwide, about

These two phrases: “I do not see color” and “I do not think about race” are indeed offensive.  I am a Black American woman. I want you to know this, acknowledge who I am culturally without harming, hating, or abusing me. The goal is not for us to ignore race – which “good” Americans claim to do.  The goal is to embrace our racial and cultural differences without fear or hatred in our hearts.