Tricky Teens

Our nine-year-old daughter Willa was upset listening to Bob and me arguing about something. We tried comforting her by reminding her that she sometimes has fights with her brother Milo but they still love each other.

"Yeah," she replied, "but that's family; you always love your family. Unless they're a teenager, then it gets tricky."

Happy sweeping!

Kathleen Gunther
Editor, ContestHound.ca

Rites of Passage

Recently we've passed a number of milestones in our family: Willa, now in Gr. 4, is no longer considered Primary in the school system; 11-year-old Milo has begun school instruction on that uncomfortable health topic and as a result is requiring much more frequent bathing; and Neva has had her braces removed and is off to high school. All good indications of life moving forward as it should. Of course, we aren't the only family facing big changes.

We were saying goodbye to our neighbour's daughter, who was heading off to university across the country. Bob said, rather dramatically, "Ah... and yet another rite of passage: kids going off the university, never to return again."

Our 9-year-old daughter, Willa, responded sweetly, "Oh, they'll return!" Then more pointedly, "With their dirty laundry in the trunk."

Happy sweeping!

Kathleen Gunther
Editor, ContestHound.ca

Back to Shcool - Back to Work

When we first started ContestHound, some 13 years ago, Bob and I believed we needed a "hook" to get subscribers to our newsletter. So in each issue, we included a story about life as at-home parents with our then toddler, Neva. As ContestHound grew, so did our family and our readers were there when Milo and Willa were born, offering us parenting tips and name ideas along the way. We cherished every email we got from our readers. (Yes, even when you suggested we name our youngest after your great grandma Ethel Minerva!) The "hook" had done more than build our audience, it had hooked us as we documented over 500 stories about our children.

Over the years, however, ContestHound led us - or we led ContestHound - away from our real beginnings as we expanded and became more business like. And we dropped the stories from the newsletters. The dollar value of each issue became more important than the connection we had with our readers. But that's not how we want to operate. It's not enjoyable anymore and we certainly all could use more fun and less stress in our day to day.

So, as our kids head back to school to begin a new year, so too will Bob and I head back to our roots to bring you great contests and sweeps and, hopefully, a smile to your day.

Happy sweeping!

Kathleen Gunther
Editor, ContestHound.com