A Literary Life

Local resources for single parents
By Kate Jonuska

If being a parent is an adventure, being a single parent is twice the adventure. Doing the job of two people means you have half as much downtime to relax with your family, care for yourself or connect with friends — and twice as many reasons to reach out for support.

“It’s tough out there,” says single mom of three Kristina Sawyckyj. “It’s a challenge in Colorado Springs being a single parent … You see lots of single moms when you take your kids to school and go out and about, but it seems they don’t connect easily.”

Single mom of one Dana Corey agrees. “When I first got divorced, I noticed there’s not a lot of resources out there,” she says. Single parents “need that, too, that way to connect with each other.”

If you’re an overwhelmed single parent, reach out to one of these local resources that understand the challenging adventure of single parenthood, that could perhaps provide a few traveling companions to walk the road at your side.

CLICK HERE to read this article, which published in the Septemeber 2008 PIkes Peak Parent magazine.

Classes teaching real-life skills equip teens for
adulthood’s true challenges
By Kate Jonuska

You’ve graduated high school. Do not pass GO. Do not collect $200. Hold on … do you even know how to earn $200, or how to budget that $200 for rent, food and entertainment?

Despite all the quadratic equations, sentence diagrams and the periodic table of the elements that high school drills into the head of teenagers, are they truly prepared for the Game of Life, able to handle all the random “CHANCE” cards that could be thrown their way?

A teen who has taken advantage of any family- and consumer-science classes — electives teaching real-life skills to fill the scary gap between book learning and adult reality — may be ahead of the game.

“When you can get information that you can accumulate for your own experience and lifetime goals, why not get it?” asks Lori McManigal, the family- and consumer-science liaison for School District 11. “It’s the overwhelming feeling of helping improve lives.”

Food and Nutrition, Relationships, Child and Adolescent Development, Independent Living: These are just a few of the many classes that offer teenagers lessons usually learned in the school of hard knocks, such as how to buy a reliable used car, cultivate good credit, have a healthy relationship or find a meal without consulting a drive-thru window.

In other words, the class covers many of the pitfalls young adults face, helping them avoid mistakes — such as bankruptcy, divorce or obesity — they might otherwise spend years correcting.

“People are realizing some of these (family- and consumer-science) skills are necessary, but don’t really know how to fit it in yet … We’re so governed by the CSAPs and test scores and all that,” says Palmer High School teacher Sharon Nemeth. Of her Relationships class, she says, “By the end of the class, every kid will say this class should be required.”

CLICK HERE to read a PDF of this article, which published in the July 2008 Pikes Peak Parent magazine.

Local animal handler brings her love of animals home
By Kate Jonuska

You might think that after a 40-hour week of caring for two hippopotamuses — transporting hundreds of pounds of food, brushing gigantic teeth, cleaning up their, ahem, droppings — a person might barricade herself alone in her home, where no other creature could demand her time and energy.

April Hyatt, an animal keeper for the hippos at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, is not such a person. In fact, her household includes two dogs, two cats, three parrots, two fish tanks and a bunch of “little ones,” like her two rats.

“Honestly, we’ve got a lot of little stuff I end up bringing home because I work at the pet store (in addition to the zoo),” says Hyatt. “I find myself being most complete when I’m around animals. I also pet-sit and work at a dog wash once a week.”

CLICK HERE to read a PDF of this article, which published in the July 2008 Pikes Peak Parent magazine.

A teen lifeguard on responsibility, focus and misconceptions

By Kate Jonuska

Photos by Carol Lawrence, special to Pikes Peak Parent

When the final bell rings to let students out of school for the summer, many teenagers exchange books and pencils with plastic gloves for cleaning bathrooms or uniforms with funny hats.

But kids like Austin Ord, an 18-year-old senior at Liberty High School, have found a way out of typical teen work in fast food and retail by becoming lifeguards, a position that offers teens a rare level of respect and responsibility. And it doesn’t hurt that he gets to hang out next to a pool on the clock.

“At my previous job, you were the bottom of the pyramid, with no respect whatsoever,” explains Austin, who will serve his second summer as a guard with the City of Colorado Springs this year. “A lot of jobs don’t trust you with responsibility. You’re there for one task only.”

But after completing a YMCA certification course, a six-hour orientation and ongoing training, Austin finds himself in a position of trust and authority daily.

“It empowers you … Not many jobs certify you to save someone’s life. At a teenage age, that’s pretty cool,” Austin explains. “It’s not just flipping burgers.”

CLICK HERE to view a PDF of this article, which ran in the June 2008 Pikes Peak Parent magazine.

On safari!

A take-along scavenger hunt for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

By Kate Jonuska and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Sunny outdoor fun can always be found at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, and new attractions like the Rocky Mountain Wild exhibit and the Mountaineer Sky Ride are sure to draw crowds. But if your children think the zoo is old hat or need a bit more structure, tear out this creative scavenger hunt to keep them entertained and — shh! Don’t tell them! — learning.

CLICK HERE to view a PDF of the scavenger hunt.

Local mothers explain their choice to stay at home or work

By Kate Jonuska – Pikes Peak Parent

Motherhood. It is the best of times (when you hear their first word or see their face light up when you enter a room). It is the worst of times (when you feel like an underpaid chauffer or your shirt reeks of vomit). It is also the time of looming guilt, when a woman can question if she is making all the right choices, doing all the right things.

One of the main guilt-ridden struggles moms face boils down to a very simple yet fundamental choice: to stay at home or to continue working. Sometimes circumstance dictates the decision, forcing a woman’s hand, while others have deeply held convictions about what kind of mother they’d like to be. Then again, many will carry both titles at different stages of their lives.

Two local women at different places in the mommy game — one stay-at-home and one working — share their thoughts on motherhood, guilt and balancing priorities.

CLICK HERE to view a PDF of this article, which published in the May 2008 Pikes Peak Parent magazine.

Becoming a big sister, for one important hour a week

By Kate Jonuska – Pikes Peak Parent

Though we’ve become closer as we age, my big sister often seemed to be an evil influence in my life. She teased me, scared me and ignored me, each in turn. She once packed my mouth with dirt, and to apologize, helped me clean it out with MY toothbrush. (Still love you, though, sis!)

I always wanted a younger sibling when I was a kid, but I never imagined that perfect little sister would fall into my lap at the age of 28, when I was introduced to 10-year-old Chloe Mosier by Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Pikes Peak Region.

Chloe and I meet once a week in the morning before school as part of the organization’s school-based mentoring program. From the moment she gets in my car to the time we get to her elementary school, this supposedly shy girl talks my ear off: about the role she had in the holiday play, the seeds sprouting in science class or an upcoming fieldtrip to the Museum of Nature and Science, where she gets to sleep overnight IN THE MUSEUM. She’s sooooo excited.

From the beginning, Chloe and I had a lot in common. We both wear glasses. We love to read and do arts and crafts. She likes helping her mom make dinner; I like to cook.

But it doesn’t really matter what we had in common initially because what we’ve learned about one another along the way has been even better. For instance, because she comes from a military family, Chloe has attended several different schools, though she’s only in fourth grade. She misses her dad when he’s away from home on assignment or for training, which can be for months at a time. She’s very proud of the traveling she’s done, including to Hawaii several times, and she wants to be a zoologist when she grows up.

This little sister of mine opened up over the course of our morning meetings, where we discussed issues like self-esteem and safety, acted out skits, made “me boxes” from magazine clippings and talked about the upcoming challenges of the tween years — all guided by a BBBS representative.

A while back, we were making bracelets out of multicolored beads. Chloe put a gray one on the string for her brother, a green one for her dad and a heart for her mom. Then she picked up a yellow bead shaped like a butterfly.

“This one’s for me,” she told me. “Because I can be shy, but when you get to know me, I’m a social butterfly.” I smiled and put a different yellow butterfly on my bracelet, to represent her.

These wonderful thoughts and ideas of Chloe’s amuse and often surprise me. “What did you want to be when you grew up? What’s your favorite color? Have you ever read this book?” She bursts out with a new question from the backseat almost every time I drive to our meeting. “What do you like about writing for the paper?” she asked recently.

“Well, I guess it never gets old to see your name in the newspaper,” I replied, and we laughed.

It’s amazing how much you can get to know a kid in a scant hour a week, how the hours add up to a real relationship. Chloe has done a lot for me, like finally showing me what it is like to be a big sister instead of just a little one. She brings back great memories from my childhood as well as some of the awkward, painful teenage ones, which I hope she’ll be spared thanks to some of BBBS’s great program themes. And she’s reminded me how important it is to make time in a busy schedule to just hang out, have fun and talk.

So in return for what she’s given me, I’ll give my “little” the little I have: some time in the morning once a week, someone to listen to what’s going on at school and maybe some confidence she can take with her into the future.

Oh, and her name in the paper, just like her big sister. This one’s for you, Chloe!

CLICK HERE to see the PDF of this article, which published in the May 2008 Pikes Peak Parent magazine.

CLICK HERE to see a PDF of all of May’s Fresh Perspectives.