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0717 JULY
12 / 92
we?re 27! when i published the first issue of baton rouge parents
magazine
(
brpm
) in july 1990, my children were 10, seven, and five
years
old. i had been a stay-at-home mom for 11
years
, and my youngest was starting kindergarten. i was told that i needed to ?do something? with my newfound freedom. for instance, play more tennis, volunteer, enjoy my leisure time. so, i started a
magazine
?a bizarre coincidence since i had actually been looking for a new hobby. looking back, i find my experiences of starting this
magazine
and parenting difficult to separate. it occurs to me that my children and this
magazine
went through a broadly defined development together. they were no longer infants, or even toddlers, the incredible
years
of ?will we survive another day?? were over. it all began for
brpm
when i decided to launch a monthly publication with a focus on parenting. talk about intense infancies?it was a mom-and-pop-around-the-kitchen- table effort at a time when the concept of local parenting publications was new.
brpm
was one of the first, and one of the best, in the industry that was about to make its mark across the country. i was excited and terrified at the same time. it was an opportunity to take a publication and design it, develop departments, columns, features?do whatever i wanted to do or could dream up. but more importantly, it was an opportunity to share the experiences of parenting?the pure joy, the bafflement, the frustration, the surprise, the panic. my sense was not one of having answers, but of being in this great adventure together with other parents, of being connected with the readers. sometimes, looking back, it?s the disasters that stand out most. like the misspelled cover teaser during our first year. then, there was the time we blundered a story so badly that i just knew our reputation was dust. but, we made it through. my monthly column remains vivid in memory, not so much because i spent a lot of time staring at a blank computer screen waiting for inspiration, but because now it chronicles a precious time: the
years
in my children?s lives. they were my parenting experiences; and that was the reason behind it all, and i drew on those
years
shamelessly. how could i not? nothing was more compelling to me than their young lives. yes,
brpm
is a product, and ad sales are good, and heaven knows that?s important, but to me, it has always been so much more. it?s something that you can put your heart and soul into and know that your life has been well spent. my
years
at
brpm
will always be the high point of my professional life. i?ve been fortunate to work part-time, full-time, and of course, overtime. i have rocked not only my babies, but the babies of coworkers. i?ve been proud to work alongside so many talented people who have put their own unique stamps to the
magazine
, always improving it, moving it forward. it?s the same feeling you get when your five-year-old turns 21, or in this case 27. i just can?t believe how far we?ve come. stay connected enter to win free goodies, and be the first to know what's going on around town at brparents.com the weekender receive the latest news and trends right in your inbox. subscribe at brparents.com facebook facebook.com/ batonrougeparents talk to me amy@brparents.com
brpm
app download our free app at google play or in the apple app store amy foreman-plaisance publisher/editor in chief in every issue / a m o t h e r ? s v o i c e 1 2 b r p a r e n t s . c o m | j u l y 2 0 1 7
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