“Hang out with people who love hanging out with their kids.”
That’s still one of the best pieces of parenting advice I’ve ever received. It’s as relevant now as it was when I first heard it years ago.
Whether it’s hanging out over coffee in those early first days, or at a post-natal yoga class a few months later, or on a playground racing around after your teetering toddlers. Being with other parents who love being with their kids is contagious. It makes everything that much more fun. And, when we need it, that much more bearable. It lets you know you’re not alone, that you’re part of a supportive and bigger community.
Like Island Parent.
What an honour, for the past 25+ years, to be part of such a supportive, inclusive and vibrant community that makes up the Island Parent family. The readers, the writers and my colleagues at the magazine. Thanks to you, we’ve heard each other’s stories, lent our ears, shared wisdom, offered our hearts, spilled our tears, told jokes, swapped recipes, suggested places to go and things to do and dished out an occasional word or two of advice.
To say that I’ve loved hanging out with all of you would be an understatement.
So it is with a heavy yet grateful heart that I say farewell. I am so thankful to have been part of the Island Parent community for all these years. Now, with four adult children—and four grandchildren!—I look forward to remaining part of that community…but in a whole new way!
Thank you for hanging out with me at Island Parent. For letting me hang out with all of you, for your contributions, your comments and for your connection. I’ve loved and always will love being part of the community and look forward to watching it grow.
– Sue Fast
