Photos: Charlie Gamble / iParent
That’s right!  Last week at the St. Pete Times Forum fans were treated to a spectacular showing of Disney on Ice Presents Mickey & Minnie’s Magical Journey. 

I got an unexpected call mid week offering me a four pack of tickets for me to take my family to enjoy the show and I was both excited and apprehensive about the opportunity.  While it had been years since I had seen an ice skating show live myself I would love to share this experience with my children.  I was not sure my mohawk-wearing, Metallica-loving,  Dungeons and Dragons playing, X-Box 360 boys would be willing to endure a night of Mickey and Minnie Mouse with their dear old mom and dad.

For many parents making this announcement to their children would likely bring forth squeals of excitement and joy.  Not exactly what I would expect in my house. 

Let’s remember, my sons are twelve and eight.  I fully expected the 12-year-old to feign some illness to get out of having to go with us and was not sure how my eight-year-old son would react but he is usually up for anything new, especially if it involves a nice dinner as well.  To my surprise my oldest began to jump up and down with excitement and spent the entire day at school on Friday telling all of his friends he was going to see Mickey Mouse on ice that Saturday night.  My youngest complained all night, all day and the entire car ride there that he just could not understand why we were making him go and if he had to go we should have to buy him something to make it worthwhile.   

We arrived at the Forum about an hour before the show and found parking in the garage.  While walking to the Forum we saw lots of young children dressed in princess dresses, Tinker Bell costumes, Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears and little black leotard outfits, even some grownups donned their own versions of their favorite characters as well. (I admit, I wore my pink Tinkerbell tee shirt too).  It was such a precious sight to see these tiny little faces all lit up with excitement.  I looked towards my sons and to my surprise; they were lit up as well.  Thank goodness, this might not be so bad after all. 

After checking out all of the hats, lights and other souvenir items the boys chose a few Stitch (from Lilo and Stitch) items and we found our seats third row from the ice.  (You know I must toss in here that Disney must have had the same idea regarding age as I did because they really didn’t have much selection in wearable souvenirs beyond a five-year-old size). My youngest very quickly went from excited back to bored and a bit cranky. We had eaten before we arrived and now suddenly every snack that passed had to be his.  The giant icy brain that bulged from his Stitch cup was shedding all over the floor in front of us and he was about to lose his cool just as the announcement came, “Ladies and Gentlemen, the show will begin in three minutes!”  Whew!  The lights went down and his eyes got big!!  And I have to say at this point is, Mickey and Minnie brought the magic.

The show lasted a good hour and a half with about a 15 minute intermission and even that was fun because who doesn’t like to watch a zamboni at work?  I not only enjoyed some fantastic skating and entertainment but watched my boys light up like Christmas trees with smiles and eyes so wide and bright with joy.  I heard my youngest say over and over this is fantastic, this is more amazing than I thought it would be.  I am glad you made me come.  I never thought it would be this amazing.  I don’t think I heard two words out of my oldest.  He stared at the rink with a smile the entire show.

I have to admit I don’t think I would have gone out of my way to purchase tickets to this show out of speculation that my children had outgrown this phase of cartoons and would not have been interested in Mickey Mouse anymore.   I may have even declined the offer to use them when they were offered at no cost.  I don’t think I will in the future.  Experiences like these enrich us in ways we cannot explain.  We may go and find we disliked the experience all together.  But what if we discover that we needed this bit of fantasy and make believe?  Those flashing moments of Peter Pan telling us to believe in Tinker Bell and save her from the poisoned milk and the entire audience obediently clapping in unison… these moments can bring so much magic, hope and faith into our hard, real and sometimes lonely world.  I know that the magical journey my family took last night left us with hours of laughter and stories to share as well as photos and memories that we will cherish for years to come.  Thank you Mickey Mouse! You’ve done it again.

Although I’d love to open my door to every child that needs care the sad truth is I am not super woman.  Try as I may, I am not physically capable of tending to the needs of so many little ones all at once.  Thankfully the state of Florida understands these physical limitations as well and has set forth their own standards and capacities in order to ensure providers don’t take on too much and put our children at risk as well.

Finding the “perfect” childcare environment for your infant, toddler or preschooler is often a tedious task, but one that should have serious consideration because the choice you make now will have a lifelong impact on your child’s relationship and developmental skills.  Some parents begin this adventure long before their baby is ever born, which might not be such a bad idea considering some of the best schools and centers have year long waiting lists.  Although you cannot be certain the place you have selected will be able to guarantee a vacancy when you need it so far down the road, it is still wise to at least start your research and investigating now versus later.   The work you do ahead of time should make the job much less stressful when you are ready to make a decision because you will have narrowed your choices based on your personal likes and dislikes and you can be sure you will get the educational experiences and nurturing as well as the safe environment that you desire for your little one.

There are many different types of childcare facilities available these days with options ranging from public centers to private homes.  Each center and home offers their own personal style of teaching, their own specific ratio of teacher to children as well as some classes may mix age groups while others keep children of the same age together all day.  There is a wide array of options for any style of parenting and if you do your homework you will surely find what you are looking for.

Talking to friends and family members with children enrolled in childcare programs is a great way to network and learn about programs that are out there.  But if you are a parent like me and are not fortunate to have those friends and family available there are other resources available.  Start by visiting www.myflorida.com.  On the left panel select the Floridian Tab. In the right hand column, fourth row down, select Home and Family. This will open a new page and the fifth option down on the left side will be Child Care. If you select this tab it will take you to a page that gives you lots of information about child care in our great state of Florida.  There is an option on this page that allows you to do a child care provider search.  Once you select it the site will prompt you to enter your search options.  You must enter the county you are searching for first and then, if you have a provider you are interested in, you can enter the name or address information.  If you have not found a provider yet, don’t be discouraged.  You are able to search by your zip code, a convenient intersection to your work or home, etc.  It will even allow you to narrow down your search based on your specific needs such as part-time, meals provided, before school, after school, weekend care, etc.

No matter your race, religion, financial or marital status there are programs and scholarships out there to assist you in finding the proper care you need.  All you have to do is log in and start searching. 

Here are some additional sites for child care resource and referral: 

www.childcarepinellas.org

www.childcareaware.org/en/

www.pinellashealth.com/PCLB/index.asp

http://elcpinellas.net/

Photo: Image: Arvind Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

My oldest son is now in middle school and has been delivered the unfortunate blow of riding the bus to school.  The beginning of his first year it was tough but as time went on it became a bit more enjoyable due to the fact he had made some friends and it was a nice time to socialize and even unwind after the “grueling” day of studies.  He is what I consider to be a good kid.  He makes good choices in the types of people he will hang out with and he doesn’t use foul language and tends to treat his peers with respect.  As we all know this is not always the case.  Any parent that visits Pinellas County School Board’s Parent Portal can see there is a section dedicated to On Campus Arrests.  How sad is this? 

Well, during the second week of school my son comes home with a startled look on his face and says to me, “Mom, we need to have a talk.”  I could tell he was really upset so I dropped everything and gave him my immediate attention.  He goes on to inform me that he had to sit in the back of the bus today since it was really crowded, three kids to each seat.  He tells me he would usually try to be closer to the front because he knows that the stories always say the bad kids like to sit in the back (even I have to giggle at this one because I always liked to sit in the back of the bus, but I do it on the inside and let him continue) but he had no choice today.  He tells me he kept his head down and didn’t look at anyone but he could hear them all talking.  He continues to tell me about the boys around him playing around and he kept hearing flicking sounds like that of a lighter.  His father smokes cigarettes so he is familiar with this sound.  He said he also heard a boy say, where is it? Do you still have it? And another boy replied back, it fell apart man.  To which the first boy replied, that’s cause you don’t know how to roll it.   My son then looks at me.  So I said, “What?”  And he says, “Mom, they had a joint… marijuana (like, duhhh)”  and asks me, “Don’t you need to call the school right now and let them know that this is going on.  These kids don’t realize what they are doing.  We can’t have this on our bus.  This is so dangerous.  I don’t want to be around this.  What am I supposed to do?”

Now, remember, this is my son’s second year in middle school so he has been through some classes that have provided street smart education as well with regards to topics that range from bullying and peer pressure to puberty, sex and even drugs so he is well aware of the risks that are out there.  So, here I stand… helpless.  What do I do? What CAN I do?

Think.  Think!!!  So I ask him, “Did you see any lighters?” He replies, “No.”  I ask him, “ Did you see any drugs?”  He replies, “No, but I know what they meant Mama!”  This is when my protective instincts kick in and I make a decision to protect my own.  That is really all I can do at this point.  Protect him and teach him to be a good person, right? Truthfully, inside I want to yank him out of public school and start homeschooling him for the rest of his years but what good will that do him in the long run?  Life is going to continue to happen and I lived through my years and managed to be a good person after all.

So I took a deep breath and explained to him that life will always throw challenges at him and it will be up to him to make the choices to be a good person or not.  I admire his ability to remain above the negative behaviors he sees around him.  He should not judge the people that make these unwise choices because they may not have role models that will talk with them and help guide them through the tough choices like he has.  Furthermore, if he feels what these children are doing is wrong he should use this energy to drive him to become a better person.  I told him that people like him are the ones that grow up to become volunteers for organizations like Big Brothers and Big Sisters, they become police officers, politicians and Presidents, attorneys and judges and respected members of our society so that they can make a positive impact in our communities and our country and make a better place for our future children and their children.

I spoke with my son many more times after that conversation about the dangers of drugs and even smoking and will continue to as any good parent should.   He is a smart young man and I feel lucky to have such an open line of communication with him.  I emphasized to him that there come times in our lives, however, that we must decide when we see wrong doing and we know we all do…. Do we always have to tell? Is it always our place?  You have to weigh the cost.  Is it worth your personal safety and sacrifice?  In this instance, I think not.  He never saw anything. He only heard a few noises that could have been lighters and a few boys saying they rolled something.  Speculation of something could have led to a face to face identification and later a retaliation that could scar my child for life.  I would rather he keep a safe distance and steer away from the places he knows this behavior is happening and let the proper authorities handle these concerns.

And, by the way, just a few days later a neighbor whom I have watched grow up from a young boy rang my doorbell.  In his hand was a clip board.  He was asking me to sign his reference sheet so he could join the police academy.  I signed his paper with a huge smile on my face and when I gave it back I asked him what led him to this choice since he had just finished college and achieved a degree in another field.  He told me, I grew up in this neighborhood and used to get beat up all the time and the kids used to smoke pot at my bus stop and I really didn’t like that.  He said my great grandmother was sweeping our driveway one day and someone came up and robbed our house while she was there alone.  So I decided if I ever wanted this to change I had to do something to make it all better.  This is how I can help and start the change.  My family does not want me to do this, but I need to do this for my family.