EdItoR's NoTe Ages 13-17 Ages 17-19 FOR THE SUMMER OF A LIFETIME Canada • USA ACTIVE TEEN TOURS OUTDOOR ADVENTURES Europe CONNIE C T1O - N Call Now for a Free Brochure • 1-800-767-0227 Israel www.westcoastconnection.com lAecerrkt\iddrz,--q-e e Exciting MCs • Live f,Vfixing Dis • Interactive Dancers Awesome Lighting .7,1 Video Simulcasts • Staging • MI Occasions THE MOST EXCITING MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT 5600 West Maple • Suite D-418 • West Bloomfield • (248) 626-9550 For An Affair To Remember fIV7RfalE Music, Entertainment And Floor Shows • Weddings • Corporate Events • Bar/Bat Mitzvahs • Dinner Dances •Banquets • Anniversaries (248) 879 2373 For More Information, Call Stella Actis me and LAM 1 I E, INFANT AND CHILDREN'S NEW SPRING ARRIVALS ALWAYS 20% OFF HOURS Monday - Friday 10:00-5:30 • Saturday 10:00-5:00 (248) 855-3214 We accept VISA,. MasterCard and American Express 6718-C Orchard Lake Rood • West Bloomfield, Michigan (1/4 mile south of Maple Rd. M the West Bloomfield Plaza) BAND 3/ 13 1998 58 DAAD symE Concerts Weddings Corporate Affairs 248-681-2417 Sol 0 ne of the many confusing aspects of parenthood is the whole notion of being ("Mommy," she'll say, "I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but what is that?"), and 1-year-old Talya joyously slips and slides on the peaches she has thrown on the floor. Then some salesman calls to tell I why we must take advantage of a c:\ great deal on new windows and a neighbor drops by to borrow our bike pump. Yitz announces he's done after two bites, and can he please, please, please have dessert now ("I'll be your best friend!"), and Adina wants to show me a new move she learned in ice < skating and can she watch "Rugrats" tonight please, please, please (she, too, will be my "best friend") and now Talya is stuffing peaches into the heat register. I have friends who tell me they never sit down for dinner with their families. "I've got to take Steve to basketball practice, and Ashley 1 wants to go do homework with Lisa, and my husband has to work late" — Call me inflexible, call me I unsympathetic, call me strict. I believe that family is too important to take a back seat to sports, school and work. By insisting that we all sit together, if only once a day, I send the message to my I children that family comes first. Yes, I know things will get tougher as my children get older, and I will do my best to be flexible when I can. If Adina goes on to be an Olympic ice-skating champ, c__/ I understand that we may have to have dinner at 8 p.m. to accom- modate her practice schedule. But she will not be allowed to stay out skating until 11 p.m. At some point, we will all be sitting there, together, at the kitchen table. And I'll still be serving that vegetable casserole. ❑ "strict." I consider myself a pretty easygo- ing parent. I really don't care whether my children's shirts match their pants and shoes, so long as everything is clean and they find the ensemble beautiful. I don't let them have ice cream for dinner, but I'm not going to force them to eat broccoli, either. And while I expect my children to do as I ask, I admit that on the few occasions they do not, I rarely get upset. The other day when my son, Yitzhak, refused to help clean a mess in the playroom (for which he was largely responsible), I said in my best no-nonsense voice: "I'm going to count to three." He looked cautiously at me. "And do . you know what's going to happen if you're not working by the time I say 'three'?" I asked. He slowly shook his head. "Then," I said sternly, "I am going to say 'four.'" Yet, other parents tell me I'm strict because I insist my children say "please" and "thank you" at all : times, tell them they must pick up their own dirty clothing ("there's no maid service in this house," I explain) and because they must write thank-you notes (actually drawings, since they're a little young for those familiar phrases like, "I hope we will share many more simchas ...") when they receive gifts. I agree I am strict when it comes 1 to one subject. Dinner. I firmly believe that a family who eats together stays together. And so, with few exceptions, we all sit down together every night of the week and have dinner. Yes, these can be exhausting affairs. Invariably, 4-year-old Yitz spills his drink at least three times, . 6-year-old Adina contorts her face Elizabeth Applebaum in horror as I place some dreaded AppleTree Editor vegetable casserole on the table