Editor's Note
Teens
By Jillian Melnyk, Editor
Leaves, ghosts, football, baseball, and apple cider – OH MY! These things all go together, right? Well, in the month of October they surely do! Football season is in full swing and baseball is gearing up for a fantastic finish. The leaves are turning and apples are fresh. I really love the fall. I especially adore those perfect days when the sun is shining and the cool air blows ever so gently so that we wrap up in a cute sweater or scarf but still get to wear our sunglasses (and we aren't yet forced to bundle up like snowmen as we are in winter).
October includes a lot of my favorite things, including what I like to dub as "fall fun". I love looking at leaves, fall farmers’ markets, and fall hikes. In past years, October featured our "Fall Fun Guide", but as you noticed in September, we moved it a month earlier so that you could start your fall fun planning ahead of schedule and not miss out on some of the great events and activities in the month of September. However, this month's calendar is jam-packed with even more fall-themed activities as well as a lot of spooky (and not so spooky)
Halloween events that the whole family will love. If you missed September and want to get your hands on our "Fall Fun Guide", you can find it on our website at www.GVParent.com/Guides. Once there, the "Fall Fun Guide" link will take you straight to our cool interactive e-edition of our magazine where you can access the guide and browse listings, ads, and events, and then shoot straight to their websites for more information.
It wasn't too long ago that I was a teenager. In fact, I remember those years well – braces, school, sports, my first car… I had a lot of fun but it was a challenging time, too. This month, we shine a special focus on tweens and teens and offer you a wide variety of articles that focus on teen issues including college planning, tips for packing a braces-friendly lunch, how to get involved in your teen's school and much more. Sometimes it's easy to overlook our tweens and teens, but they need parental support and guidance, too. This month's articles are sure to inspire and educate. Even if your kids aren't teens yet, take a peek at them, because even though they might just be young’uns now, before you know it you'll have a whole pack of teenagers on your hands! October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This month's article, "When Mom Has Breast Cancer" features an alarming statistic: 24 percent of adults with cancer are parents of children younger than age 18. In other words, 1 in 4 adults with cancer have young children. That's a lot for a family to handle. Thankfully, our area has a wide variety of resources and support available for families. Whether your direct family has been affected by cancer or not, I encourage you to read this month's feature because whether it is a sister, friend, neighbor, or co-worker, we all know someone who has battled (or is battling) cancer, and the article includes not only resources for cancer patients but for friends and relatives who want to offer their support as well.
Just a reminder: Be sure to catch November's issue featuring our Annual Education Guide.
Jillian
This column appeared originally in the October 2009 issue of Genesee Valley Parent Magazine.