Message from a Mom by @Donna_Fasano

Navigating the river called parenting isn’t easy. When you were young, we laughed as we splashed in the babbling brook of life. We explored the shallows, marveled at the iridescent minnows, turned over rocks to find red salamanders, constantly curious and awed by our discoveries. I paddled through the current, steering you this way or that, always going in the direction I thought was best.

Time passed, and your urge to test your paddling skills grew… so, for a short while, we shared in the chore. Rains came, and the river widened and deepened. Storms billowed in the clouds overhead, rousing a choppy current that felt scary, even dangerous. The sun rose and calm returned. Such is life on the river.

I slowly came to the realization that it was time to step out of the canoe, hand over the paddle, allow you to navigate your own way. In that instant, the river’s name changed to Life, and it became yours. Sometimes, watching from the shoreline is excruciating. It is during those moments I force myself to remember that I did my very best during our together years to teach you when to battle the current, when to drift with it, and, if need be, how to swim. Most times, though, I am astonished by your strong, confident strokes, your keen sense of piloting.

You are on the right course; of this I am certain. I am confident in your ability to judge the ebb and flow of Life. I am sure you know your vessel, the strength of its keel, the weight of its anchor, the location of its grab rails, the cut of its wake. You’ve got this, come sunshine or squall.

I will try to relax, but I can’t promise to do so. I’m a parent, remember. And I love you. If you should ever need me, I am here. But in my heart, I know you have your bearing. I know you will find your flow and do well on this journey.

From the author: Look for my Black Bear Brothers Series, available on Amazon in digital and in paperback. Click on the image below to learn more. 

About the author:

Donna Fasano is a USA Today Bestselling Author of over 40 sweet romance, contemporary romance, and women’s fiction novels. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. 

Growing up too fast by Mona Risk

If you are blessed with grandchildren, I am sure you enjoy spending time with them and helping the young families juggle work and parenting. 

I was lucky to hold my grandchildren as babies, watch them walking and learning to talk. I babysat them often as toddlers and preschoolers. Later I drove them to school and various activities, attended sports game, gym competitions, piano lessons, karate sessions,... Now I have the joy of seeing them turning into beautiful teenagers who come to grandma with exciting stories and challenging questions.

Talking about challenging questions! 

My friends, I need help with the answer. How do you respond when your granddaughter asks you? “At what age did Mommy have her first date?”

After the first shock, I answered very slowly while furiously squeezing my brain for an answer that would convince and satisfy my inquisitive teenager without aggravating her parents.  

“Huh...hmm, at...huh...if I remember well...your mommy had her first date in college. In high school, she often went out with a group of friend to social gatherings, football games, and school picnics. And you know,” I quickly added. “Your mommy always told me where and with whom she was going out. I knew I could trust her because she would never hide anything from me.”

How would you answer this tricky question, keeping in mind that you want your granddaughter to turn into a self-confident adult well-adjusted to the present life, a friendly person who respects herself and others, and looks at life with a smile and an open-mind, and a decent young woman with good values who knows where to draw the line? 

 Your turn. Please, help with your answers. 

Available on Amazon

Finally, Claire's dream of a wonderful white wedding to the man she’s loved for ten years is about to come true. Two weeks before the big day, Claire and David receive an unexpected announcement that can destroy their relationship. Is their love for each other strong enough to turn the worst wedding surprise into the best?
Wedding Surprise is Book 4 of Holiday Babies Series.

Women Leadership

Do you believe in women leadership? I always did.

During my career as a chemist, manager of an environmental lab, and director of the analytical division of my company, I continuously fought to improve women’s status at work. I remember the quip of one of my male employees. “Hey boss, I am a young white male. Why do I feel like a minority here?” The whole staff burst out laughing. But Jim had a point. In my lab, there were more women than men. Not that I hired more women on purpose. Qualified chemists were difficult to find. We had to train the new hires. The hours were long, the job difficult and highly stressful with many government regulations, strict quality control and deadlines. Some chemists couldn’t cope with the pressure. Women seemed more resilient.
[Jim, if you read this. Know that you were one of the best chemists I ever had. You survived.]

When I started my own career, I had two small children and was often asked derogatory questions during job interviews, questions considered discriminatory today.
Who will take care of your kids when you are at work? The best daycare, not that it is any of your business!
Are you going to take off when they are sick? What do you think? Am I going to let them stay alone at home!
Can you stay long hours and overtime if necessary? Yes, sir, I am a professional. I have the feeling I will work harder than any man here to prove myself!
Yes, I did work harder than my male colleagues to prove myself. And I succeeded and was promoted.

But I always understood how difficult it was for a woman to make it in a man’s world. As a result, I managed my lab differently. Young mothers could take off when their kids were sick. They could come later or earlier than the classical 8:00am. Providing they put their forty hours a week and delivered their results on time, I didn’t care how they handled their schedule. A young mother with a sick kid could work in the evening when her husband was back from work, and stayed home with the sick child during the day.

Flexibility was the name of the game. With good salaries and regular increases, my employees didn’t mind hard work as long as they set their hours themselves. As a result, my lab became known for its low turnover and reliable staff.

Exhausted by my heavy responsibilities to corporate, to my staff and to the laboratory clients, and burnt out by the incredibly long hours of work I imposed on myself, I took an early retirement. A year later, the lab closed. My employees had no trouble finding jobs elsewhere, thanks to their thorough experience and the excellent references I gave them.

After being the boss for many years, I am now the good old friend who likes to hear about their family news. As the corporate office celebrates its thirtieth anniversary, the chief executive officers surprised me with this certificate of achievement.

All my heroines are career women--except this one.

Barbara made it her career to be a loving wife, a tender mother, a devoted volunteer...  Even after she lost her husband, she remained loyal to his memory. Until the day she meets Lou Roland, who'd never married, never loved a child, never cared about a woman except as a conquest.

Lou can't figure out why he is attracted to Barbara and why she absolutely refuses to fall into his arms. How can he change her?
And why is she changing him so much?

Hobbies

Hobby is defined as “an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation”.

Over the years my hobbies changed often. As a child and until I graduated from college, my two main hobbies I couldn’t live without were my ballet and reading. I used to read two books a day during summer vacation, and one book per week during school year. 

Marriage, children and lack of time made me forget my ballet, and ignore books for sometimes. Instead I walked. Pushing a stroller, I walked miles and miles every day and composed my own stories in my head.

Fast forward to the time when the kids became teenagers, I tried to slim down with new hobbies, such as tennis for a few years. I gave it up when it almost caused a divorce. You see, I could never return the ball correctly during a double with my expert husband. Instead, I became addicted to the gym. At least, I was doing it on my own. No competition and no stress.

My mother taught me knitting and I dutifully knitted all my sweaters since the age of twelve, but she had to do the collar and finishing. She even managed to teach sewing and it came handy to shorten dresses and pants that always seemed too long. My mother-in-law insisted I learn to crochet. Believe it or not, I crocheted 25 afghans and a dozen of baby blankets. I forgot all the stitches now.

I always went back to reading and composing stories, until that hobby turned into a new career of romance writer. 

What is your hobby? That activity you pursue for pleasure or relaxation? 

CHRISTMAS PAPA reached the USA Today bestseller list as part of Sweet Christmas Kisses 2.

Available at Amazon

99 cents

Single  mother, Monica Roland, is pretty enough to attract any man she wants, but to keep him is a different ballgame. The moment a serious boyfriend learns of her past or meets her adorable twins, he feels the urge to move two-thousand miles away, like Jake Carlton, a doctor who works in Alaska and is “dating” her long distance.

Until Michael kisses her…

But Michael Wheeler is a playboy who hates commitment. Fed up with the men around her, Monica moves forward with her life, putting her children and education before anything else.

Can Michael convince her that having a career doesn’t preclude love?

"This was a very sweet story. Monica was such a wonderful mom and tried really hard to keep control of her life and trying to not set herself up for heartache. I really liked how the story played out. It certainly wasn't a whirlwind romance. The timeline was very believable." Amazon Customer

Children in my books

Homework was done and Nine-year-old couldn’t watch her usual fun shows as grandpa was monopolizing the TV with his boring news about some hearing. So what can a Nine-year-old do when she has nothing to do and it’s not yet bedtime?

Play of course. Except that Grandma doesn’t know many games. One wonders how Grandma had graduated from school and college without learning some simple games as Money-Money and Master Brain. So be it. Nine-year-old  took a few minutes to teach Grandma, not thoroughly, because this way, Nine-year-old could beat Grandma so easily.

Then we played Monopoly. Now that was annoying because Grandma obviously knew this game and started winning. Honestly, the game became boring. Can you enjoy a game when you are losing to your old Grandma? Okay, so Nine-year-old took a break to put her pjs and then to eat an ice cream, but Grandma kept winning. So frustrating! That’s when Nine-year-old decided she was tired and stopped the game before we knew who won.

Now you know why I love writing about children and babies, and where I found my inspiration.

Tomorrow is RELEASE DAY for Book 5 in the Holiday Babies Series.

CHRISTMAS PAPA reached the USA Today bestseller list as part of Sweet Christmas Kisses 2.

Available at Amazon

99 cents

Single  mother, Monica Roland, is pretty enough to attract any man she wants, but to keep him is a different ballgame. The moment a serious boyfriend learns of her past or meets her adorable twins, he feels the urge to move two-thousand miles away, like Jake Carlton, a doctor who works in Alaska and is “dating” her long distance.

Until Michael kisses her…

But Michael Wheeler is a playboy who hates commitment. Fed up with the men around her, Monica moves forward with her life, putting her children and education before anything else.

Can Michael convince her that having a career doesn’t preclude love?