By Gwen Rockwood, newspaper columnist and mama of 3

One night 12 years ago…

The night didn’t get started until 9 p.m. My friend JC and I, whose single-girl apartments were a few doors away from one another, considered it uncool to be seen out any earlier than nine o’clock. What would be the point anyway? Everybody knew that nothing worth talking about happens before nine.

We spent a couple of hours changing our minds about outfits, hair and make-up choices. After we were satisfied that our look was just right, we climbed into the car and headed toward a restaurant/sports bar where the bartender was cute and the mozzarella sticks were hot. We snacked and laughed and talked to old friends and new faces, discussing clothes, cars, gossip, and, most importantly, where we were headed later in the night to go dancing.

As the clock closed in on 11 p.m., we paid our tab and went to a dance club located in the basement of a downtown restaurant known for its ability to pack in a huge crowd for “Trash Disco� night. We loved dancing to those songs that hit the charts when we were still toddlers.

We danced with just about any guy who asked us to as long as we liked the song and the guy wasn’t handsy. If we met a nice guy or two along the way, it was a pleasant surprise. But we were smart enough to know our chances of meeting a soul mate during “Trash Disco� night weren’t great. We weren’t there to date. We were there to dance. And we did – right up until the last song played at 2 a.m. and the place closed down.

At 2:05 a.m., we drove a few miles away to a diner by the bowling alley where cranky old waitresses served breakfast all night to college kids not ready to go home yet. Without a moment of guilt, we both had a huge plate of biscuits and gravy because our metabolism was as energetic as we were. Then we went back to our respective apartments a little after 3 a.m. and called it a night – a really good night.

One night two days ago…

We asked the babysitter to arrive at 3:30 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon. Tom and I started getting dressed to go out around 3:10 p.m. We’d lost track of time because I was busy catching up on laundry while Tom paid bills online at his laptop. The sitter showed up and we were nearly giddy to see her. We were about to have a nice, leisurely restaurant dinner with another married couple where no one would squirm in her highchair or throw pepperoni or ask us for game tokens. Ah, a little slice of grown-up heaven.

Determined to milk every minute of babysitting time we’d reserved, we got out of there as soon as our friends arrived. But it seemed weird to have dinner at 4 p.m., so we found a place to have drinks and talk. Around 4:30 p.m. or so, we went to a Japanese restaurant where the guys had sushi and we girls had way too much fried rice. Our thirty-something conversation revolved around jobs, news, ice storm clean-up, chainsaws, funny chainsaw stories, taxes, tax software, kids, kids’ weird sleeping habits, kids’ latest bout with illness, recession and jokes about how we should not be eating this much.

Around 7 p.m., we drove to the movie theater to see what was playing. But we couldn’t find a movie that didn’t look stupid that was starting at a time that suited us. So we skipped the movies and had dessert instead. Two chocolate molten lava cakes later, there were more jokes about how we REALLY shouldn’t have had that dessert but it was totally worth it anyway. Back in the car, we agreed it seemed later than it actually was and it was probably best to get back home since the kids would be getting tired soon. But I think it was the grown-ups who were fighting back yawns. Our bellies were full and Monday morning work was looming on the other side of nightfall.

At home, we paid the sitter, tucked in our three kids, loaded the dishwasher and crawled under the covers. Glancing over at the clock, we were thrilled to see that it was only 9 p.m. We were warm in bed with our television remote and some recorded sitcoms on the DVR list. Thinking back, I realized my night was now ending at the same time it started a dozen years ago.

“Honey, we’re in bed at 9 p.m., you know. We’re really old, aren’t we?� I asked.

“Yes, honey. We’re really old. But I’m okay with it,� he replied.

“Me, too,� I said.

A sitcom or two later, we turned out the lamps and called it a night – a really good night.

By Erin, Isaac’s mama

My Mom passed away on Sunday.  My Mom.  My Mother.  My Mama – I usually called her Mama, just as I like Isaac to call me Mama, not Mommy – my Southern roots show with that.  My Mama – what a wonderful woman.  I don’t know what I am going to do without her every day for the rest of my life.  We lived 5 minutes away from each other, and talked on the phone every day – most times more than once.  She struggled with a long, mysterious, chronic illness that caused her physical and mental pain and suffering.  She struggled every day just to live a normal life, and spent many hours in bed, despite the fact that she also spent many hours just living her life through the pain.

She was diagnosed with shingles about a month ago, and the pain of shingles and the side-effects of the medicine caused her to regress further into her pain and suffering.  She hardly made it out of bed, and only out of the house a couple of times to visit the mail box and once to the grocery store with my dad, over the last three weeks.  On Sunday morning, she passed away, and is finally out of her constant pain.

She had a lovely funeral on Wednesday – graveside with nice weather, wonderful words by my Dad and my sister, and a perfect eulogy from our Rabbi, Jacob Adler.  I also spoke, and here is what I said about my wonderful, amazing, dear Mama, Sharon Myers:

Mariah (my sister) and I had the best mother that anybody could ever have – she loved us unconditionally, always put us first in her thoughts and actions, and showered us with love, praise, compliments, attention, and affection.  When we were little girls, one of her favorite things to do was to call us to her as if she needed us to hurry to tell us something very important.  She would say, “Hurry, Hurry, Hurry, Come here, come here – I need to tell you something . . .â€� Then, as you rushed over to her, she would say, “I NEED a HUG!â€�  She continued to do this with Isaac, and I continue the tradition with him today.  Mom never NEEDED anything from you  — she just NEEDED to give and give and give.

I could stand here and talk for hours about my Mama – I could tell stories all day long.  My Mom was beautiful, but always the most comfortable in her casual blue jeans.  My Mom was so smart, competent and talented, but she was humble about her professional and personal accomplishments.  The therapy, care and guidance she provided as a Speech Pathologist, to her patients and families was incredible – she helped so many children learn to communicate or function more fully in the speech and language arena; however, her care to the family never ended there.  She was always available for guidance toward other caregivers or therapists, other services and organizations, or anything else that a family might need.

My Mom was the best listener – you could talk to her for as long as you needed, and she was always willing and able to pay attention and stay fully interested.  Many of you probably remember fondly my mother’s wonderful way of peppering you with questions.  Some people might come off as nosy with the constant questions, but it was easy to see just how interested she truly was in those that she came into contact with.  Whether you were her closest friend, friend to her children or husband, or a casual acquaintance, Mom would never fail to chat with you, ask you questions about your life and experiences, and be truly interested in hearing your answers. 

My Mom and Dad were married for 39 years.  Just like most REAL marriages, they had their share of problems.  I learned from them that a REAL marriage is not a piece of cake – a real marriage takes hard work and commitment, and can stand the tests and trials that life brings.  My parents were more in love than any other married couple that I know – they were each others best friend, but most importantly, they loved each other so much – their love is full, it saw the test of time and trial, and it was passionate and so real.  I just hope that Michael and I can love each other as fully and fiercely as my parents did during their life together.

Mariah and I will miss our Mom so much – we don’t know how we are going to get by without being able to call her every day and seek her care, guidance, love and wisdom.  Our boys are so lucky to have had her for a grandma – she took me through our difficult time with bringing Isaac into this world, and she was with Mariah the very first time she met Jonah – you could never find a better Grandma. 

Mom, we miss you so much already.  We love you and we are so thankful to have you as our mother.  Although we will miss you every day of the rest of our lives, we want to thank you for giving us enough love to see us through.  Our greatest hope is that we can both be the kind of mothers you were to us.  The world will be just a little bit better, as long as we remember to live by the example you set for us.  We love you.

I saw the Sleep Diet featured on the Today Show recently, and now I’m convinced that I’ve GOT to get more sleep! Finding a way to get enough sleep is particularly challenging for busy moms, but this bit of news just might be the thing that convinces us all to get to bed on time.

According to the report on the Today Show, the editors of Glamour Magazine recently did a little experiment to see if women would lose weight after doing nothing but changing their sleep habits. They were required to get a minimum of 7.5 hours of sleep each night. (Most women get an average of about 6 hours and 40 minutes of sleep per night.) At the end of the 10-week study, the seven women involved in the study lost between seven and 15 pounds!

Experts say that when you’re sleep deprived, your body makes more of a hormone called “ghrelin” which makes you hungry, and less of the hormone called “leptin” which tells you when to stop eating. To see the complete report, click HERE to go to the Today Show website and read more about it.

Thursday night’s elimination show recap:

The three who advanced from Wednesday night’s show were:

• Allison Iraheta
• Adam Lambert
• Kris Allen

Kris Allen is from Conway, Arkansas. Hurray for the Arkansas boy! He is really talented and has personality to spare, so I’m hoping for big things for him as the show goes on.

So far, the top 12 is shaping up nicely. Six down and six more to go. There is one more group of 12, which will be whittled down to 3 next week. Then the judges will select a lucky few who get one more shot during a Wild Card Round. Three of the Wild Cards will also advance. Stay tuned!!

Wednesday night show recap:

Overall, it was a disappointing night on American Idol. Most of the performances fell short of expectations. Here’s a quick recap, from one mama’s point of view:

I had high hopes for Jasmine Murray (who sang first) and Matt Giraud, who followed her. Both performances didn’t even come close to what these two singers showed us in Hollywood week. It seemed like Jasmine couldn’t hear the band in the background because it sounded way off-key. Matt just picked a song that didn’t showcase his bluesy vibe. Too bad. Hope he is back on Wild Card week.

Nick Mitchell, aka Norman Gentle, was funny but sounded not-so-hot. Although his act is amusing, I think we’d all get real sick of it real fast if he continues on the show.

Some of the strongest performances of the night included Allison Iraheta, who sang Alone by Heart. Great voice but her interview personality might hold her back a little. Jesse Langseth was also good. She sang Betty Davis Eyes, and she looked cute, too. I also liked Mishavonna Henson, who sang Drops of Jupiter. The judges were tough on her but I thought the song matched up nicely with her voice. The judges want her to cut loose a little and act younger.

Kris Allen from Conway, Arkansas sang Man in the Middle by Michael Jackson. I cringed when I heard he was about to sing it. Typically, picking a Michael Jackson song is not a great idea on this show. But he surprised me and I thought, overall, it was a good, solid performance with lots of personality. Even Simon liked it! I just hope it’s enough to get him through to the next round.

Adam Lambert ended the night with Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones. His voice is seriously amazing, but he’s still too theatrical for my taste. It feels “over the top” to me instead of genuine. But I think he’ll improve as he goes along.

So who will make it? In my book, the three who advance should be Kris Allen (yes, I’m terribly biased for the Arkansas boy, but he really did sound good);  Jesse Langseth and Allison Iraheta. But who do I think are most likely to advance? I’d go with Adam Lambert, Mishavonna Henson and Megan Joy Corkrey. But then again, this show is like Forest Gump’s famous box of chocolates. “You never know what you’re gonna get.”