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LETTER TO READERS fredericksburg parent & family PRODUCTION Back to School PUBLISHER Leigh Anne Van Doren Tabitha & Jamie Nelle's mom DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS & MARKETING Heidi DiEugenio, Duke & Dane's mom DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING Leanne Dalton Justin, Steven & Rebeka's mom ADVERTISING SALES REPRESENTATIVES Kathy Vaughan; Becca & Sarah's mom Michele Amaya; Hayley, Alayna, Levi & Nathaly's mom OFFICE MANAGER Nancy Massanat Emily & Kyle's Mom EDITOR Elizabeth Jones Jordan, Quincy, & Hayden's mom GRAPHIC DESIGNER Cheryl Carter Alex, Kate & Jackie's mom WEBMASTER Karen Charney Joshua & Spencer's mom CALENDAR EDITOR Leigha Pecher Jake & Luke's mom DIRECTOR OF CIRCULATION Krista Starosta Nick, Andrew, Kaylin & Kensington's mom PROGRAM MANAGER, SCIENCE SATURDAYS Victoria McCollum Ian & Malcolm's mom COMMUNITY BLOG MANAGER Mary Becelia Katherine Laura & Robert Joseph's mom FACEBOOK COMMUNITY MANAGERS Elizabeth Jones: Jordan, Quincy & Hayden's mom Pamela Quinones: Corinn, Michael, Isabella & Dalton ADVERTISING 540/374-1495 lcdalton@fredericksburgparent.net adsales@fredericksburgparent.net PHONE E-MAIL E-MAIL E-MAIL E-MAIL CALENDAR & RESOURCE REQUESTS calendar@fredericksburgparent.net resources@fredericksburgparent.net EDITORIAL 540/374-1495 • FAX 540/374-1672 E-MAIL editor@fredericksburgparent.net publisher@fredericksburgparent.net SNAIL MAIL P.O. Box 7884, Fred'bg, VA 22404 www.fredericksburgparent.net PHONE The publishers reserve the right to reject any advertisement, editorial or listing that does not meet the publication's standards. No part of this magazine may be reproduced with out permission. Listing and advertising rates are available upon request. Every effort has been made to assure the accuracy of the information contained herein, however, the publisher cannot guarantee such accuracy. Listings and advertisements are subject to typographical errors, ommissions and/or change without notice. © Copyright 2013 Nurture, Inc. All rights reserved. Entrepreneur of the Year PROUD FOUNDING MEMBER 8 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • September 2013 BY KRIS STAROSTA P hew. The kids are all safely back in school, and it's time to take a deep breath from the summer vacations, picnics, pools, sleepovers and all of the random spur of the moment fun that kids like to have... But wait! Now, it's time to get back into all of those activities that we gave up for the summer. You know what I mean - soccer teams, gymnastics, Girl/Boy Scouts, swim teams... and the list goes on. Our family puts all of the "structured" activities on hold for the summer so we can enjoy the summer family style. This year, it means even more to us than normal to get back into the "routine" of school, structured sports teams and group activities. We made a big move this summer from Virginia to Michigan. It was hard to come to a new location and feel that we didn't have anything to do. Don't get me wrong, it was nice from my point of view, that I didn't have to run in 15 different directions for various activities, but I didn't realize how the kids were tied to our community through the different programs we were in. With four kids, we were involved in gymnastics, soccer, football, Girl Scouts, baseball and dance. When we left Fredericksburg, we left behind a world of instructors and friends who have helped my children grow and learn to find value in themselves. It took me having to leave everything behind to realize how much that impacted our family. I guess while I was busy rejoicing in the fact that I was going to be truly free from being a chauffeur to my kids, my kids were wondering what was going to become of the world they belonged to, the identity they had developed inside each activity. Now that we are settled and school has started, I have given up my desires for a low impact activity life, and I now have my nose to the grindstone to find all of the groups that will help my kids belong to our new community. Even though I was slow to admit it, I am looking forward to seeing my kids grow from their experiences with their new peer groups and coaches. Silly mom, activities/groups/sports are for kids! Kris Starosta is a wife to Keith and a full-time mom to Nick, 17; Kaylin, 10; Andrew, 10; and Kensington, 7; and a devoted staff member of Fredericksburg Parent and Family magazine for the last four years.