What does football,
dancing, being a beautiful African American woman and single parenting
have in common?
Kellie Lee G of the Ravens Football Team in Baltimore, Maryland. iSingleParent
sat down with Kellie Lee and her lovely mom at Panera Bread in Annapolis
on Sunday afternoon. Kellie is young, super fit, bright, beautiful and
full of motivation to be a great mom and have a full life doing what
she loves best, dancing.
Kellie enjoyed being married and was certainly in it for the long haul,
especially, as they had a young son. Infidelity, on her husband's part,
caused a change that could not be healed. Kellie had to move on and start
a new life. That's exactly what she did! She looked at this change as
an opportunity, a bright new future for her and her son.
Learn what devastating event changed the course of Kellie's life forever
and what it takes to "make the cut" to be a Ravens Cheerleader year
after year in our next issue of iSingleParent Magazine in 2010.
Mommies and Daddies in Jail
We
were out walking. A police car stopped and looked at my Daddy. Soon
there were lots of police cars and flashing lights. I was scared. I
wondered what was happening.
If you are the parent caregiver for a child or children whose mom is
incarcerated, YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
During the holiday season, you and your child may be struggling with
many issues. You may be juggling work and home responsibilities and
feel as if you are on an emotional roller coaster. The holidays are
a time for thinking about others and reaching out to your loved ones.
Here are some action steps that may be helpful for you and your child
now and, of course, throughout the year.
1. Be honest with your child about the parent
who is incarcerated.
2. Allow your child to express his or her
own fears and anger.
3. Consider allowing your child to phone,
write letters and cards or visit the incarcerated parent.
4. Seek support from your local agencies,
faith-based organizations, and school personnel that can help you and
help your child through these difficult and often overwhelming times.
Despite the painful struggle that comes with this situation, you and
your child CAN be in control, CAN be empowered, and CAN create a good
life. Learn more each month. By Judi L. Goozh and Sue Jeweler
“So what about single parents, John?” asks a single mom responding
to a newspaper column of mine in which I proposed that it is in a child’s
best interest for his parents’ relationship with one another to be stronger
than their relationships with him. “How does all that apply to a single
mom like me?”
I am, in fact, qualified to answer that question because my mother was
a single parent for most of the first seven years of my life. During
that time, she was a very interesting person in my eyes—one of the most
interesting people I’ve ever known in fact. She worked outside the home.
She went to college (at that time, the College of Charleston) and eventually
obtained a Ph.D. in plant morphology. She had a seemingly endless variety
of friends.
Living with Children
John Rosemond
Copyright 2009, John
K. Rosemond
The Importance of Relationships
Tired of Dating the wrong person? Relationships strained with family
and friends? Want a better sex life? Then these two amazing experts
are the answer for you in 2010. We proudly welcome Dr. Pepper Schwartz
Ph.D and Dr. Maureen Vernon Ph.D as experts in the field of relationships,
families and sex.
Click on the “heart” icon to read fascinating articles you just won’t
want to miss starting in January.
Laurent Amzallag – Fitness Personality
He has been named as one of the 50 most influential people in the world of fitness by the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
Do you want to get back into shape but can’t find the time as a single parent? Laurent is passionate about getting you back into shape in 2010! Oprah recently chose Laurent as her fitness expert to motivate and get all her guests to “shake their booties” on her “Live Your Best Life” tour. ELLE Magazine also featured Laurent in their June 2004 issue, describing his fitness training style as “Sexercise.” Laurent’s charismatic energy and motivational skills have led to a long list of international bookings and promotions for his revolutionary brand of fitness: The YaLa Workout. The YaLa (“Let’s Go”) Workout combines strength conditioning exercises and dance moves choreographed to world beats. Laurent will be helping you stay in shape or get back into shape in this New Year!
I’m the poster-child for someone who should not drive without a Global
Positioning System or GPS. A GPS is one of the greatest inventions of
all time! Before GPS became a household name, I drove through life like
I was in one of my 11 year old son’s video games: fumbling with maps,
frantically searching for signs, desperately avoiding hazards, almost
always going in the wrong direction, and mostly screaming and crying.
It was not a pretty sight.
With the current state of the economy, many people feel like they’re
hurling through the same type of video “game.” During my 27 years of
guiding people in money matters, I’ve acted as my clients’ “Fiscal GPS”.
This is my first in a series of articles for iSingleParent in which
I will navigate the subject of Women, Their Money, and Installing a
Fiscal GPS.
Jacalyn Murray, CRPC®
Vice President, Investment Consultant
SunTrust Investment Services,
Inc.
iMilitary
Staff Sgt. LaShanda Zackery, of the Air Force, has been a single mom since the birth of her daughter, Nia. She is currently stationed and lives on base at Fort Meade, Maryland. Our interview started when LaShanda opened up and said, “It’s been really hard to balance it all and be in the military”. She loves her job, that’s for certain. As I interviewed Staff Sgt. Zackery, I could not help feeling her pain and seeing the tears that she was holding back the entire time. LaShanda wants other parents to see how challenging it is when a father is uninvolved and deployed. She doesn’t get a call to see how their daughter is doing and even though they are not together it makes her sad for Nia, their daughter.
I want my story to be heard by other parents the military. Learn more about Staff Sgt. Zackery in January.
"Food and Forgiveness" 
