Passing this along …

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PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 16, 2010

CONTACT:  Nancy Massotto, Executive Director

PHONE: (973) 228-2110

 HOLISTIC MOMS NETWORK CHAPTER FORMING IN DURANGO

 DURANGO, CO – A new chapter of the Holistic Moms Network is forming in Durango and will hold their Chapter Kick-Off Open House at the Durango Public Library located 1900 E 3^rd Avenue in Durango on Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 6:30 p.m.

The Holistic Moms Network is a rapidly growing national non-profit organization connecting moms who are passionate about holistic health and green living.  “Through monthly meetings our local chapters bring parents together in a non-judgmental environment that honors their lifestyle and parenting choices,” says the group’s Executive Director Dr. Nancy Massotto. “For new parents who choose to raise their children holistically, having the support of like-minded parents is critical,” she says. The Holistic Moms Network encourages new moms to trust their instincts, to parent from the heart, and to educate themselves about the pros and cons of all healthcare options.  Through a dynamic e-mail discussion loop, members of the group share life-changing information and advice on a variety of topics including pregnancy, breastfeeding, natural childbirth, positive discipline, alternative medicine, and all aspects of green living. 

The organization, which was founded in New Jersey in 2003, currently has more than 120 chapters across the United States.  “A majority of today’s moms say that pregnancy inspired a shift to green living, and three quarters of Americans seek out some form of alternative medicine,” says Massotto, “so we’re seeing a surge of interest in our organization.” 

 Moms, dads, grandparents, partners, and other caregivers are all welcome to join.  The Durango, CO Chapter meets on the third Thursday of each month at the Durango Public Library and welcomes volunteer guest speakers on a variety of holistic lifestyle topics.  For more information, please visit the Holistic Moms Network website at www.holisticmoms.org or contact the organization at (877) HOL-MOMS.

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Holistic Moms Network
www.holisticmoms.org  

 Holistic Moms Network images available on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/groups/holisticmomsnetwork/

As I mentioned when I started this blog about a half a year ago, it is an experiment born out of my desire to commune with other parents about the issues that matter to us most. Over the months I’ve learned a lot about your interests and concerns and am happy to report that readership has continued a slow march upward. But this remains a labor of love (I volunteered to assume it on top of my regular reporter duties and so my compensation is in kudos, which don’t buy groceries but do build job satisfaction), and I find myself constantly wishing I could give it more love than I have time for.

So in the interest of providing you with consistently fresh, interesting and pertinent material, I’m seeking guest bloggers. This could be people who would contribute once, occasionally or regularly. The subject could be an event, activity or issue. Posters can offer advice or solicit it (on sensitive subjects I could honor requests to withhold identification if that was the only way to bring a worthy subject to light). If you run an organization that serves children or families, here would be a great place to let people know what’s going on. It would be nice, too, to get the voices of parents of teens or tweens on here because I feel I’ve neglected them. Ultimately I think this will be a great way to open the conversation and bring in a broader spectrum of perspectives. If you think you might be interested, click here to send me a private message. I look forward to hearing from you.

I’ve always been loathe to use “too busy” as an excuse for anything. To me, it’s like saying that forces beyond my control are in the driver seat of my life. It’s acknowledging that worthwhile things will simply not be gotten to.

There is no question that since becoming a parent I’m busier than I’ve ever been in my life. Activities that were once daily or weekly occurrences (jogging, scrubbing the toilet) now, like financial statements, appear quarterly, if that. But there’s also a weird freedom that comes with being so over-scheduled. Ambitions that used to nag at me — learn shorthand, train for a marathon, nail a 360 on a snowboard – fall to the wayside with no guilt whatsoever. At the same time, the day’s domestic rituals, what the Spanish call the cuotidiana, take on a powerful, almost meditative, quality. Baking bread back in my childless days seemed absurdly anachronistic, but now there’s something soul-nourishing and almost primal to the smell of it filling the house. In the end, life may be busier, but it’s also more purposeful. There’s little room for malaise when every nook and cranny of my mental space is full.

In this vein, I’m proud to introduce local mom Rachel Turiel’s new blog, 6512 and growing. I ran into Turiel, whose Adventures in Motherhood column appears on the Family & Relationships page of this newspaper, at the coffee fest this weekend. She said starting a blog with so little time seems crazy but what the hay. I’m so glad to see Turiel, a ridiculously talented writer, with another creative outlet and hope that by following her we can help generate a little ad revenue for her. Isn’t it phenomenal how we mommies, no matter how impossibly full life can seem, always manage to squeeze just one more thing in (and so what if the toilet doesn’t get cleaned)?

Now you can subscribe to Kid Row and receive an email anytime a new post appears. Or follow the Durango Herald on Twitter and get Kid Row updates as well as other Herald news. Just click on the “subscribe” link in the upper right-hand corner.