PARENTS OF SPECIAL KIDS NEED FUN, TOO.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
They laughed through the salads, and they laughed through the entrees. And when dessert arrived, they laughed through that, too. ``Who are those women -- old high school or college friends?'' a man at another table asked. ``They sure are having a lot of fun.'' Yeah, they were. No heart-to-heart talks or tears tonight. It was moms' night out. Time for fun. The women weren't childhood friends. They never went to the same school or worked together. They really had little in common except the most important thing in their lives: their kids. They are all mothers of a special-needs special-needs or special needs adj. Of or relating to people who have specific needs, as those associated with a disability. child. On the third Tuesday of each month, about 15 of them get together for dinner. The following Tuesday, five or six of the dads meet to shoot pool or play a few holes of golf before heading off for dinner. Gina Peters joined the moms for dinner about four months ago. When she got home that first night, she e-mailed Melissa Berenstein, who founded the group four years ago. ``She told me her face hurt, that she hadn't laughed in three years,'' Berenstein said. ``I had tears in my eyes In My Eyes was a Boston straight edge band that spearheaded the 1997 youth crew revival along with Ten Yard Fight, Bane, The Trust, Fastbreak and Floorpunch. The band and its members were a part of the hot bed that was the Boston music scene in the late 90's and early 2000's. . I knew exactly what she meant. We all did. That's why we started moms' night out.'' Peters' 3-year-old son, Nathaniel, has a sensory-processing disorder that causes him to wake up five or six times a night. The young mother was dead tired when she slid recently into the booth at the Melting Pot melting pot America as the home of many races and cultures. [Am. Pop. Culture: Misc.] See : America restaurant in Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. , arriving late because she had to wait for her dad to come baby-sit. She'd had just two hours sleep in two days. But within five minutes, the weary look on Peters' face had been replaced with a smile as she talked with the other moms. ``This is the first place I've felt comfortable with another group of moms since Nathaniel was born,'' she said. ``I fit in here. The stuff I go through, they understand. There are no judgments here, only understanding.'' Moms Colleen col·leen n. An Irish girl. [Irish Gaelic cailín, diminutive of caile, girl, from Old Irish. Yinger, Laura Meshwork, Lynda Karl, Lisa Tivens, Desiree Ridge, Lisa Taylor and Berenstein nodded and smiled. Then they told the young, hot-looking waiter to get his buns over to their table. The laughter and fun was about to begin. ``We all have full, challenging lives with special children we love very much, and this is our chance to get together as moms and have fun,'' said Meshwork, whose 9-year-old son, Chandler Chandler, city (1990 pop. 90,533), Maricopa co., S central Ariz., in the Salt River valley; inc. 1920. It is both a residential community and a center for research and technology. Tourism is also important, and the San Marcos Golf Resort is in Chandler. , has autism autism (ô`tĭzəm), developmental disability resulting from a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain. It is characterized by the abnormal development of communication skills, social skills, and reasoning. . There are plenty of support groups to help deal with the tears and pain, plenty of programs for parents and their special-needs children together, said Berenstein, whose daughter, Miranda, 9, has mild cerebral palsy cerebral palsy (sərē`brəl pôl`zē), disability caused by brain damage before or during birth or in the first years, resulting in a loss of voluntary muscular control and coordination. . ``But there was nothing just for the moms, nothing just for the dads, so we started our nights out.'' The group mainly draws from Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. and Agoura Hills, and its mailing list An automated e-mail system on the Internet, which is maintained by subject matter. There are thousands of such lists that reach millions of individuals and businesses. New users generally subscribe by sending an e-mail with the word "subscribe" in it and subsequently receive all new now contains names of more than 90 parents of children with special needs who stay in touch and offer each other suggestions and advice. ``When I first heard about dads' night out, I asked myself what was the point of getting together with other dads?'' said Stephen Trudeau, whose 7-year-old son, Devin, has cerebral palsy. ``But then I looked at it as lifeguards staying physically fit. We fathers need to be emotionally fit to help our families. ``I just wish more fathers with special-needs kids would take us up on our offer,'' he said. ``We're not here to cry on each others' shoulders. We're here for support and to have a few laughs once a month doing some guy things together.'' Trudeau, Jack Berenstein and Mike Carey spent an hour on a recent Tuesday night hitting golf balls on the driving range at Westlake Golf Course Westlake Golf Course is a 18 hole regulation length golf course located in Westlake Village, California, USA. It is an 18-hole course designed by Ted Robinson, ASGCA in 1964. It features 5,080 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 67. The course rating is 63. before going out to dinner. They might not laugh as much as the moms, the guys said, but they're having plenty of fun, too. If you're the parent of a special-needs child and want more information on the group, call the Berensteins at (805) 492-9028, or e-mail them at jacknmelis(at)adelphia.net. dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3749 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Moms, from left, Gina Peters, Lynda Karl, Melissa Berenstein, Colleen Yinger, and Laura Meshwork enjoy a night out at The Melting Pot in Thousand Oaks. Once a month, mothers of children with disabilities get together to enjoy a night with friends. Alex Collins/Special to the Daily News |
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