Amherst News-Times, 2002-05-08

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Local kids adopt military man — Page 5 Crunch players give tips — Page 5
Amherst News-Time
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WIDNISDAY. May H. 2002
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Happy mothers are active mothers
by AMY PERSINQER
News-Times reporter
There I was, screaming for one of
the kids to get some shoes on before
all the kids missed breakfast at
school again. I wasn't screaming because I was angry, although without
too much more effort I would be, I
just needed to be heard over the din.
Ethan, 10, was ready for school
so he had the Playstation going. He
had it turned up so he could hear it
over the din, too. Jordan, 11, had her
radio blaring from her bedroom.
Caleb, 8, was telling me something
very, very important to him, it probably involved the chickens he was
supposed to be outside feeding.
I think the phone was ringing.
Yes, ringing at 7:25 in the morning.
That's about the only time my
friend, Jaime, can catch me at home.
Jared, 4, the baby, (oh, the big
boy, sorry) was chasing two of his
sisters, Quincy, 7, and Sydney, S,
out into the yard. I think it was
pretty nice out — above freezing,
anyway.
It was one of those two girls that I
wanted to get acquainted with her
footwear.
I got up, like normal, about 6:30
a.m. and got the kids up a few minutes after that Yet, I suspected I
was going to be late for work, again.
I didn't have to be in till nine, but it
seemed way too soon, the way
things were going.
In my own defense, I drop the
kids off at two separate schools and
a daycare center before I begin my
commute to weak. Thank goodness
for that commute. It is the quietest
part of my day.
Finally, we were backing way too
fast out of my driveway on our way
to school. I looked out the front
window and there was my huge yellow lab sitting confused-looking in
the middle of my driveway. She
wondered, I imagine, if I intended to
u
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The Persinger kids stood still, sort of, long enough to get a picture
taken with their beloved pets. From left to right: Jordan holding the
cat, Sassy, Sydney and Quincy holding chickens, Ethan and Caleb
let her back into the yard and shut
the gate.
For informational purposes, there
is also a cat living in our house, but
she doesn't give me too much lip.
For just a moment I probably
wondered that morning why I was
doing all this. But, I know. It is for
the same reason other women stay
up late into the evening making
some delicacy for their kid's bake
sale at school. U'» why parents go to
PTO meetings and endless link
league practices (more about little
league, later.) It's for the kids.
What reason could my mother
have for watching six kids every
Monday night for hours and fight
off the urge lo bark "Hey! I didn't
have all these kids!" It's for her kid.
corralling the dog, Chelsea and
monkey.
(I'm lucky — I'm her kid.)
Mothering has changed a lot over
the years in some ways but stayed
exactly the same in others. It's gotten a heck of a lot more hectic —
my effort to get my six kids to
school, for example, but it's much
easier for us in others. Here's an
example.
I brought Jordan to work with me
Jared with his favorite stuffed
April 25 for the National Take our
Daughters to Work Day. She got the
real working mom experience.
She talked with some of the other
people in the office. She got to
know the editor and an advertising
rep. I planned to take her to meet
some of the people in Amherst I
know from having such a cool job.
I had some writing to do and she
was being i line
started to rir        *• 'Cool,
she gets to  e than
type."
"This is the school calling, your
daughter threw up and needs to have
someone pick her up. Your parents
aren't answering,'' the horrible voice
on the other end intoned.
Jordan laughed out loud. It
seemed so ridiculous that our day
would end that quickly. But the honest truth is that that is exactly how it
is for working moms. And the more
kids there are, the more often it
happens.
I finished the paragraph I was
working on and we packed up my
brief case and headed out the door.
But it wasn't always so easy for a
working mom to run out and take
care of a sick kid, and it still isn't
for many mothers.
"You're lucky you could leave,"
one mom told me, and she's right
"When my kids were little, they
(employers) didn't understand."
Some employers still don't understand. And the ones that do are still
dependant on their employees, even
the one's with sick kids.
It seems to me that moms just
can't rest, even if they don't have
full-time jobs or six kids. The
mothers with time on their hands
seem to fill it up making extra special dinners, working harder for the
kid's school or helping on the t-ball
team. (Thank goodness for these
mothers!) There are grandmothers
(and grandfathers — we'll talk about them in June) that go into my
children's schools and read to them.
It's wonderful.
Every bit of the work is worth it
When one of those kids smile or
laughs out loud it makes my heart
ache. When one of them screams kl
joy that the chickens hud another
egg (we pay more in feed than the
we'll ever get in eggs) I don't begrudge the darned birds the effort it
takes to keep them quite as much.
There'll be peace enough when
they're grown (until they bring over
their kids.)
Local cable TV
show promotes
fitness, activity
by AMY PERSINQER
News-Times reporter
Randy Barkus is on a mission to
get Lorain county residents off their
couches, and in a more active
lifestyle.
His newest venture to encourage
activity is a new TV show on Amherst's cable channel.
The show evolved from a radio
show that Barkus has hosted for two
years on WEOL called "On the Run
with Dr. Randy." The radio show is
aired during die running season, ending with the Cleveland Marathon.
Barkus taped a show for Avon
Lake's cable channel encouraging
people to go out to the track for one
lap. The show was aired in Elyria,
Lorain and Amherst as well
After seeing the show, Amherst's
station manager, Charlene Duncan
encouraged Barkus to tape some
more shows to be aired on Amherst
cable.
The first show also featured Marion L. Steele boys cross country
coach, Scott Snyder. Barkus said the
plan is for the two men to co-host
the show. Both men are accomplished runners. Barkus ran in the
Cleveland marathon this year and
Snyder ran in the 10K.
Barkus heads up the Boomer Athletic Club which encourages community service and athleticism, he
said. They have hosted a variety of
events that combine helping others
with good health.
April 20 the group began what
CONTINUED on page 3
Randy Barkus tafcs with some participants ol the 1,000 Mile Jour- ney at Firelands High School track last month.
Everything old is new again at this kids' store
by AMY
News-Timee reporter
There isn't anything new
about Diana Lafferty's new
store. In fact there isn't anything new in it either.
Lafferty owns Recycled
Kidz, a resale shop specializing in quality children's
clothes and accessories. She
opened the More about six
weeks ago on Rt 38 near ihe
of Middte Ridge Road.
Lafferty is the mother of
two kids, four years old and
two years old. She has her
bachelor's degree from Tiffin
University in business and is
currently working on her mas
ter's degree.
"I have a lot of school
work to do. I thought I'd
open my own business, set
my own hows," she said. "It
kind of back fired. I'm loo
busy lo do achooi work."
She worked in advertising
and retail for years before
feeling that she needed lo
home with a colicky
a couple of yews ago.
She started browsing the
interact for nice kids clothes
for her children tttf lo sell
the clothes her kids had outgrown, she said. She started
haying and selling clothes by
the lot on E-bay and Yahoo,
two kite-net
decorated the walla of die
store with   kid-friendly murals. One wall is decorated
with a brightly colored blimp
pulling •sreamers along behind
it The other walls are covered with
Eventually, she got the idea
to open the used kids clothing  Stte  tmmm tMCSIM \m>
cycled Kids.
She said they got the keys
to the store March 1 and
planned to open Anrti 1
Her sister. Debbie Ah
She said that there was so
much interest in the store
while they were preparing to
open that they decided to
open it two weeks early.
Lafferty said that she
couldn't have pulled it off
without ttw help of her
wbA her sister. Site
had emergency surgery time
days after opening the More
and they kept it open Cor her
until she was back on her
feet
Lafferty's store aleo has a
back room for kids to play in
while lie aduks shop.
Soon she plans to open s
teen room in Ihe store that
will carry naate-bnmd. high
qoahty dothes that older Uds
will lie.
Everything ia the More is
clew aad bri^a. Lafferty
specifies ia lie
agreement that heme sold by
Recycled Kids
Some tht**g*1. especially
large items, am sold oa consignment SfffCTtMtM lo Lafferty, bat she also boys children's dungs ontright from pa*
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store credit they wfll receive
25 pace* more *w if they
For Mother's day this yam
the More win he holda* a
sals from Wednesday thernstht
Samedqr aad will also haws a
for
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