As we say goodbye to summer and hello to crisp autumn air, pumpkins, and changing leaves, I am reminded of another fall, twelve years ago. That’s when we published our very first issue of Richmond Family Magazine. My boys were just one and three years old at the time, and my husband and I joked that RFM was our third child. It was a proud moment for the entire family and the whole RFM team as we saw that first issue hit the stands at places around Richmond like Ukrops.
Fast forward twelve years, and we are all still just as proud when each issue hits stands, even this 132nd time (Wow!). The kids aren’t exactly kids anymore, now taller than I am and thirteen and fifteen years old. The worries I had back then seem simpler in hindsight, although they sure were big at the time. Most moms can relate to lying in bed at night fretting about whether their child is walking and talking at the right age, eating the right foods, and getting the proper amount of sleep, right?
As I read this issue’s Well Family article from Dr. Brager at Virginia ENT (page 36), I remembered my oldest being wheeled back to the operating room in a red wagon to have Dr. Brager put tubes in his tiny two-year-old ears. I was so worried and felt so helpless as he was whisked away, and the relief washed over me when he came back out happy as a clam with no memory of the procedure.
The worries sure do change as the kids get older, especially with driving looming in the not-too-distant future for us (Yikes!). The mental and emotional toll that comes with being a teenager in 2021 is ever present now, and it often makes me yearn for the days of fretting over a sharp coffee table corner or a possible fall off the monkey bars. I’m proud to have one of this issue’s features, Inside the Teenage Mind (beginning on page 32), as a resource for families with teens, and it reminds me of one of our very first RFM slogans: For Families at Every Stage of the Parenting Game.
Over the years, we’ve added editorial departments focusing on pets, seniors, finances, and science/tech, just to name a few because we know that our readers have families of all types, from furry and four-legged to multi-generational, all under the same roof. You have grown and changed right alongside us, and some of you are empty-nesters and even grandparents now, and you recognize that RFM is still a wonderful resource as you move into the next stage of your parenting journey. We are grateful that you have picked up RFM for the last twelve years and have told your friends and relatives to pick it up, too. You subscribe to our weekly RFM eNews to stay in touch between issues, and you follow us on social media for your daily dose of whatever we have cooking each day.
We welcome our newer readers, too, and would love to hear from all of you with any feedback, suggestions, or just to say hello. Come see us in person, too, at the RFM Education Expo on November 7, at the Science Museum of Virginia (see facing page for more info). We’re all in this parenting journey together, and we’re so thankful for that.
Enjoy this issue and happy fall!
