At about 2:00pm yesterday, out of the blue, I received a message on Twitter from a producer at Huffington Post Live. My heart skipped a beat and I held my breath. I obviously answered as quickly as I could, and she asked if I was interested in participating in a segment on helicopter parenting. The segment was airing at 3:20pm for about twenty minutes. I was picking up the boys from school and had invited two other boys to my house at 4:00pm. I calculated travel times and realized it would be cutting it close but how could I miss this opportunity? I said “sure.”
The following couple of hours were a big blur where I must have aged about ten years. I called my sister for rescue. She told me to come over and she would watch the boys while I did the segment on her son’s computer in another room. Perfect. I linked into a Google+ chat (super easy by the way) and off I went.
The panelists were some well known writers who regularly contribute to The Huffington Post. Amongst them, Lisa Belkin who writes in their parenting section, and Annie Schultz from MamaDweeb.com. So I was a little star struck.
The assistant producer was a super savvy young lady who, while doing ten things at once, talked me through the process. All of a sudden my face popped onto a computer screen and I was ready to go.
If you are curious, here is the link to the segment.I could hear my kids going nuts in the living room, I texted my sister a load of thank yous and disconnected to pay attention to the task at hand. As soon as the segment started I had major technical issues and couldn’t hear a thing. I prayed for help and it came in the form of my nephew Paul, who did something or other and ta-dah … I was finally on and able to participate. Then, it became hard to shut me up!
Once we were finished, I was still dizzy from all the excitement. I looked at my watch and saw 3:50pm. YIKES, the playdates! I got the boys shoes on in record time, thanked my sister profusely and ran out the door. By now it was exactly 4:00pm. My boys were clamoring for their promised playdates unaware of the opportunity I had just been given. Call me a helicopter parent if you wish, but I managed to have those four boys at my house by 4:10pm. At 4:11pm my house was loud, book bags were scattered on the floor, and I began getting a snack ready until, finally, at 4:12pm I was able to breath again.
