To the editor:

If you know of a person welcoming a new baby into a family, or a woman with the experience to help someone through that process, we have an idea whose time is right for Whidbey Islanders. We are Mother Mentors, and we connect new mothers to mentors whose background and disposition can help through this challenging time of life.

Our service is connecting; and this letter really has two parts, one for each member of the partnership:

For the mother: are you parenting young children and desire to connect with a new friend? Someone who listens, encourages and inspires you and reliably is there to lend a hand when you need it to cope with family stress, a situation often precipitated by bringing home a new baby. Or are you doing fine; and still long for a woman who has experience in the process and can share her wisdom and conversation?

Though hugely rewarding, you are involved in one of life’s most challenging and demanding experiences. Parenting young children or welcoming a new baby can be one of the hardest tasks you have ever taken on. Lack of sleep, the demands of dealing with toddlers and not enough adult conversation can sap your energy.

Let us pair you with that special person who has been there and can share her experience and wisdom with you. Once or twice a week for a few hours she will come to your home and share the load, hold the baby, play with the toddler(s) and do what you need to restore your sense of perspective.

For the mentor: If you would like to be a Mother Mentor, part of that special team that helps new parents cope with the stresses and challenges of welcoming a new (or another) child into the family, we can open that opportunity for you. We all wonder, in the face of national, state, and community dysfunction, what we can do as an individual to make a better world. We have an answer for you, one that makes a difference in someone’s life and fills that “grandparent void” you may be experiencing if you are far from family!

Mentors are people who assist others with young families for three or more months after a baby is born, or when moms or dads with young children need a little break with another adult. Sometimes even parents can use a little “mothering” from another adult. If you have a little time to share just being that special person to another, feel your own experience is relevant and want to “pay it forward,” please e-mail wamothermentore@gmail.com or call 221-0484 and a Mother Mentors volunteer will contact you for an interview. We provide the orientation, the training, connect you with a mentee and follow up to see how it goes.

The next Mother Mentors training is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 19 in Langley.

Mother Mentors is a program of Island County Readiness to Learn.

ANNA MARIE MORTON

Volunteer coordinator

Mother Mentors