Dear Readers,

May and June bring jacketless days and cool nights, open windows, campfires, flip flops, and cookouts to celebrate graduates and veterans.

Despite working full time and not having a child in school, late spring and early summer nonetheless signal my brain to switch to a more carefree mode.

Not all of us can enjoy this luxury, however. When you’re a mom of a child with special needs or a chronic illness, “carefree” isn’t in your vocabulary. To find out more about how these moms do it, read about two local moms in my article, “Supermoms” (Page 6).

Planning a family vacation this summer? If you’re like me, when you get back, you’ll need another one to unwind. Why not let the kids vacation at Grandma’s and take a trip where you and your spouse can really relax? Read about how other parents feel about going it alone in “Just Go! Parents Have Mixed Feelings About Vacationing Sans Kids” (Page 7). If gasoline prices are holding you captive, consider a Flat Stanley vacation — Heidi Maness Hartwiger’s Natural Parent, Natural Child series continues with the tale of her week with Flat Stanley, a two-dimensional character who “vacationed” at her house, and how families can learn about faraway places by mailing Flat Stanley to distant friends and family and asking them to keep a log of all they do in a week.

Don’t forget that within an hour or two of the Ohio Valley, there are dozens of fabulous places to visit, sites to see and recreational opportunities. For ideas, check out the I Love to Travel pages that have been featured in the Sunday News-Register, www.news-register.net. Also, the Web sites of the Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and West Virginia tourism boards are great resources.

May also brings a tribute to mothers: May 11. And on June 15, we honor fathers. I never understood why my parents said they didn’t want anything special on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day until I had a child myself. The way I see it now, every day is mother’s day and father’s day — because once you have a child, you’re always a mother or father. I know I feel honored every day, just to be a mother. But don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to turn down dinner or a handmade card!

On the subect of paying tribute, I want to mention a mom who goes above and beyond in pouring forth love and generosity from a well that never runs dry: my mother-in-law, Jane McFarland of Martins Ferry. Words fail me when I try to express my gratefulness for all she has done for me in the eight and a half years since I married her younger son. From lending us her unrivaled Electrolux vacuum, to keeping us in laundry soap and cat litter, to sending us on our honeymoon, to preparing thousands of delicious meals, to — most significantly — helping to raise our daughter by caring for her three to four days a week while we’re at work ... the list goes on and on and on. Thank you, Jane; you truly are a blessing to me!

And as for dads, well, there is no dad of whom I am more proud than my husband, Dave McFarland. One of my favorite things is to watch him play with Emma — he comes up with so many different ways to have fun that I never would have thought of, let alone have the patience to actually do with her. He is fiercely protective, which I find endearing; and for a guy who never was the touchy-feely type, he has become quite the Snuggle Bug with his daughter. Thank you, Dave; you’re an amazing father!

Happy Mother’s Day and Happy Father’s Day to all Ohio Valley parents!