Laguna Beach Moms Talk: "Hi Mom, I'm On Mount Everest!"

As a mom with grown sons, I was sure they taught me way more than I taught them. I thought of that again when I opened my e-mail to see my oldest son’s photos from Mount Everest.

How did we get from here to there?

How long ago was it that I stood under the jungle gym and told him he had climbed too high and needed to come down now!?

Some instincts never change. Now, many years later, I found myself waking up at 3 a.m., scanning the Himalayan news online to check the action on Everest! When he told me he was going, I smiled, and swallowed hard. Well, it was his dream—he should have it.

So far, he has made two trips. The first was a scouting expedition, and on the second, he reached 18,000 feet. If he makes a third trip, he'll go for the summit, which of course is quite costly, requires permits, and planning—and, yes, is dangerous. Between base camp at 12,000 feet and 18,000 feet, e-mail waivers, and those were interesting days for me. (That first e-mail upon return to base camp was really welcome.) But, I guess I know, if he tells me there will be a third trip, I'll smile and swallow hard again. After all, it is his dream ...

Time doesn’t fly. It moves at warp speed!

Wherever you are in the parent curve, be prepared to wake up one morning and wonder "Wow! How did we get here?"

The baby years crawl by, and you wonder when will they learn to tie their shoes! Elementary school years muddle along. But then you blink, life accelerates, and kids go marching off to the Himalayas, or wherever their dreams take them.

My message to all moms and dads is to check off all those wish boxes when they pop up. Whenever you can, make your family’s dreams a reality.

We all play the "if" game as we bump into life. We wobble. We assume an idea won’t work, or will wait. But then we find out. Life never waits. Earthquakes hit. Jobs change. Kids grow up.

Sometimes, looking back, I know we checked off some good boxes. Ready or not, we hopped in the car and made some fun trips. Sooner, rather than later, we packed our bags and flew to exciting destinations.

My son’s ongoing dream was to be on Everest. I like to think we helped him believe in his dreams.

We spent many hours making wishes real. We built the backyard tree house that they desperately wanted and painted their rooms in must-have colors. We juggled schedules so they could make soccer practice and music lessons. We stayed up late to help them rehearse and finish projects. And after much effort, and stretching of resources, we were always glad we did.

And when we paused, we always wished we had not.

In Sixty Seconds to Success, Edward Smith says, "A positive attitude is contagious; it can turn your world around."

Paste "NOW IS THE TIME" on your fridge. Right next to it, put magnets for everybody to post their wishes. If not now, WHEN is a better time to make your kids beam?

Trust me. Everest is just around the corner.

Let us know how you fix wishes, and we will share it on Laguna Beach Patch Moms Talk.

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When that piercing wail goes off in the store and it’s your child, what do you do?

Scoot home pronto, smile sweetly as you cart him away, or come up with an immediate solution? Experts tell us emotional control does not kick in until about age 4, so toddlers can pull off those screaming fits for quite some time.

I was always one of those embarrassed moms who wanted to immediately hide when my son began to wail. But the best thing to do is to get down to his level and repeat his words to let him know you understand.

You can echo, “No! Mad!” “Want something else!” You will get his attention and slow the squall. Theoretically, he has to pause to hear you!

You can also avoid taking toddlers out when they have missed naps or did not sleep well, but sometimes wails just happen. I kept favorite treats in my bag, along with a special toy, or whatever else would work that I could quickly whip out.

You may have a whole bag of tricks, or a really good attitude. Let us know what you do when that wail goes off and we’ll share it on Laguna Beach Moms Talk.