welcome to mosaic and happy mother's day on this mother's day holiday, and i am katherine tick and i'm delighted to be with you today. the show was about mothers, the challenges and joys, and what it is like to be parenting these days. and i have a guest from the golden gate mother's group. i have guest that will be speaking about the group and their experience as mothers. and welcome and we are so glad you are here today.

you are mother and volunteer with the golden gate mother's group. act thank you for having us. >> you are welcome. i know how much i got out of the golden gate mother's group, and this is the 20th anniversary. tell us first, tell us about your children, and tell me about why you joined.>> i joined the golden gate mother's group for ggmg, and i joined to get tips on things to buy or things i may need when my son was born, and it also help me to prepare for this new birth. >> it is a life-changing event, and our identity changes with being mothers, and what support did you receive from the golden gate mother's group? >> i mainly stayed on the

forms, and read the forums and stories from current mothers and what they were doing. what kinds of things they were buying for their new kids. that was the extent of it for me at first. i merely read the forums to gather information. >> the forums are online, the email streams? >> yes. if the mother has a question about how to do something, or something they are interested in buying for the child, they can post on the forum and get great advice from other mothers.>> but something happened in your life that helped you to invest even deeper and could you share that? >> sure. when my son was 15 months old, my husband and i separated. my renewal for ggmg came up,

and i thought maybe i should cut back on that $75 year experience as a single mother. and they talked me into staying in volunteering, and if you volunteer, the next year the membership fee is waived, so i started taking over the social media accounts with another coach, and i started to get involved in the volunteer meetings each month and meeting new people and friends that i really got to know better.>> and there is a special interest group within the gg mg for single moms. >> there are a number of special interest groups, and there is one for postpartum depression, infertility, and a single mom group. once a month there is a meeting where all of the moms meet and talk to their fist together, and gg mg will pay for the childcare during the meeting, and it is nice to get together with other mothers that are in the same situation and discuss

the challenges and what is happening and life. >> and you get support from one another. and here's a community within a community, and it is a large community. what is the membership? >> 4300 members, and of the community of momsent. live about 180 volunteers to keep the organization running because we are completely volunteers.>> that is what is impressive, no staff, ran for moms i moms. and certainly it was my experience a member 12 years ago. why are moms joining the gg mg?>> i think the initial reason is probably similar to how i joined and others join because you are having a new child, and a lot of times you don't feel like you are no we

-- that you know what you are doing. it is nice that other mothers that have some experience and can lead you down the path of motherhood. we will come back and meet some other moms in just a minute. thank you.

welcome back to mosaic and happy mother's day. i am a mother, and the pastor at the st. marks lutheran church, and where with other mothers from the golden gate mother's group, and with me is addie and we just heard about her, and now we have nao, the mother of a 22 month old. and a busy life being the

mother of a two-year-old. >> it does takes a toll on you most days, but he is my bundle of joy.>> we all feel grateful for our children. and you are new to the golden gate mother's group and also to the bay area, and imagine there is a connection between you joining and being new to the bay area, so tell us your story. >> i moved to san francisco about nine months ago from canada. and professional and work obligations brought us over here. when i first moved here, i was lost. i moved over with a 10-month- old, moving across country, which takes its toll. i was looking for an opportunity to be part of a community and to get to know other mothers, and play dates for my son as well. i joined the golden gate mother's group with that intention.

it was a great support for me, and for the first few months i was here because i was so lost. from finding out which parts to go to, what type of -- parks to go to, what type of citizens groups and what this city offers. this led me, after i got settled in my life in san francisco, i wanted to give back and volunteer. i apply for a role on the board, and now i helped the partnerships, and i work with a talented team of volunteers, and what we do is secure the best discounts for the members across the city, in terms of services and products, and introduced the moms to great things that are all over the city. and also for services as well

as products.>> we need to emphasize that the golden gate mother's group is entirely ran by volunteers. i know that the two of you were instrumental in that, and it also offers resources to the mothers that are members. we know that san francisco is an expensive place to live. and if we all put together that helpful budget, those resources are so helpful for us. >> absolutely. san francisco is an expensive city, but it has some great local businesses. most of the vendors and partners we work with are looking to help out the mothers and the members, and we are very fortunate with that partnership.>> tell us one of the kid friendly secrets in san francisco, or a kid and leave resource that maybe our viewers don't know about that the golden gate mother's group knows about. is there a resource or playground, a place to go to that you can share with us?

>> i think that san francisco is great in the sense that i've lived in a couple of cities across the world, and they have great parks in the neighborhoods. wherever you go and wherever you live, there's a great playground around. my son's favorite is lafayette park. i think i spend 4 to 5 hours a week there. and i'm sure that you have your favorites.>> word your kids go now, addie? >> huntington park in [ null ] hill, but lafayette is also a favorite.>> what is great about the voting gate mother's group, and looking at your 20's anniversary newsletter, you highlight different anniversaries and neighborhoods in the city, and those that are kid ran late. and i think you highlight they view in the current newsletter. -- bayview in the current newsletter. and we don't always know where

the kid friendly restaurants and playgrounds are, or other activities, and a great resource for the new mom's.>> yes, and for however long you live in the city, you experience the city differently when you have children. you may live in a neighborhood for a long time, but once you have children, it is great to have a resource dictation the great restaurants and spots to go to. and gg mg does a great job of that. >> there are joys and parenting and challenges in parroting. -- in parenting, and our own identity changes. to be with other moms that can support us, and be a place of affirmation and acceptance really helps the moms with their own identity changes, and have you found that to be true?>> i think so.

when you have a source of community, sometimes it is nice to have a sounding board. and sometimes it is nice for someone to list the you and say yes, i went through that last week, so you realize you're not losing your mind. and if you haven't slept in 48 hours they will take you it will get better shortly, so it is nice to have that sense of support. >> addie, have you also found that? >> yes, and especially being a single parent, it was nice to get together with single moms that are having the same struggles. if we want to do something we have to figure out childcare, or we do something with the kids, and nice to be with a part of a group of moms that all have the same struggles that i do. the golden gate mother's group is also a diverse community, and i would imagine you have moms from all cultural and economic backgrounds, all wake -- all

walks of life. >> absolutely. and sometimes that $75 membership fee, when i was a single mom, it was looking at something i would cut from the budget, so we offer a discount to some moms if they are in need, and we can work with them to make sure that we are supporting the moms. we do not want anybody not to join because the price tag is too heavy.>> 20 years is amazing for an organization. looking at your newsletter, i love this quote, "motherhood is still at its heart mother heard, all of the fundamentals are the same today as they were 20 years ago." so you're still focusing on the resources and nurturing ourselves, our children and our parents, along with nurturing our community. i know there is opportunity for the golden gate broke mother's

group -- golden gate mother's group to give back to the community. >> we have a lot of drives that we do throughout the year, and our community support team coordinates this, and we work with the homeless prenatal program, and getting them the resources they need. and we have done diaper drives, and a drive that involves getting a bedtime toy, blanket and books for the homeless children. >> we will hear more about that in just a minute, and we will welcome another mom to our next segment. thank you.

welcome back to mosaic, and

happy mother's day on this mother's day sunday. there are many parenting and mother's groups throughout the bay area, and i encourage you to check in for a local mother's group wherever you live, and there is one here that is celebrating its 20th anniversary, the golden gate mother's group, and i was a member 13 years ago when my daughter was born, and we have two members from the group, and we have shikha and welcome to you. the parents of two children, and they are boys, seven and five, and tell us their names. >> isaac and gabriel.>> and what is it like being the parent of two young and active boys?>> it keeps me busy, for sure. one of the challenges? >> they are brothers, close in age, and at the age where they are interested in their own

things, but at the same time, they come together, russell and play together, and sometimes it gets rough. as a mom and a woman, at first i was always trying to interfere. and tell them this would hurt, and don't do that, but then i have learned that they are boys, and they can handle it, and they will learn. and if you play too rough, you get hurt. it took me a while to learn that lesson. >> our parenting does evolve. we get that experience other members of the golden gate mother's group, and tell us why you joined the organization and by you give so much to it. >> i joined because i was up monday nights late, beating a newborn, and i got tired of watching the reruns of the videos, and i wanted to figure out what i could do with the time i was having where i could

not sleep, and maybe i thought i could talk with other moms, and died down the golden gate mother's group and thought i could look at to that. so i reached out through the volunteer email and ask what i could do late at night to try and help the organization. i was a member, and i was reading the forum. i also wanted to do more. i was at home at the time, and i was ordered. so i wanted to do something. and that voting gate mother's group is ran entirely by the members, the bombs, for moms and by mom's. and you have a coordinators of technology. director of technology. i pretty much stayed with the web team, and i moved around a lot. i was a director, and i was the cheer for the wild, and the vice chair for a little while. i've been in various positions.

>> you up as a single mom, have two boys and work and volunteer. heidi keep that altogether? >> i don't know. i don't keep it all together. that is the truth. >> that is a fallacy that we are able to keep it all together by juggling raster. and with a group like golden gate mother's group, we can be real and honest with our challenges. being a mom is a humbling experience i have found. >> yes, it is. we learn about our children, that we also learn about ourselves. you are the director of technology, and shikha, the director of resources. >> what we do, aside from looking for the best deals across the city, we provide moms with services such as discounted babysitting, or

discounted playgrounds for the indoor playgrounds. and i find with the babysitting, especially for those that are new to the city, or new to the parenting thing, it is daunting to leave your child with somebody. having the community and this support system in which mothers can recommend the babysitting services, it is very important. as a mom, i think most people will agree that nobody can do as good a job as we can. but if we can help to build the trust or see the other people's experiences so that we can provide a recommendation, that really helps. back when i was up memberi , took those recommendations seriously because he knows better than the moms themselves. where did you find your main support in the golden gate mother's group? you talked about the forums, but did you participate in other activities? >> idea. one big activity is the

playgroup. they do a playgroup formation throughout the year, and you meet with other moms, you stay about the same age as your child. sometimes they will go by the neighborhood, or if you are a stay-at-home mom or a working mom. but that is how i met a group of moms, and we met at the playgrounds, cafis and got to know each other, and our kids laid together. i think a lot of the moms in the groups still stay in touch after years have gone by. >> that is true, you do form deep bonds and friendship. i like what you said earlier, sarah, and that the golden gate mother's group provides a community that is not cookie-cutter. and you welcome the diversity of the moms that are out there in san francisco.>> exactly, whether you are stayed home are working, or would you had your

child naturally, or adopted, or a single mom by choice. so many different ways to be a mom. >> that is the gift of san francisco, there are so many ways to make a family, and the diversity of families in our city. i came to mother or through adoption, and i participated in the adoption support group. and i remember that would be ponderous. -- deep fondness. i was on the 20th golden anniversary page today, and it brought back fond memories. i like the parent education and book recommendations in the newsletter. and then there were upcoming spring outings taking place, but can you describe those spring outings happening around the corner? one is to the discovery museum.

>> that is a very popular event, and we have a lot of moms the come in and we booked a section of the discovery museum. we have partners that i referred to before, and great local businesses that work with us across the city. they also participate, but this is the off tuesday for the moms, families and children to come out and enjoy the nice weather we have. we have several events throughout the year, and we have a halloween event that is a popular spring event. that was my first halloween event last year, and it is my favorite event to see the different costumes in their creativity. it is so much fun. i think the parents have as much fun as the children. my favorite event was the easter egg hunt at the san francisco zoo on the playground. i remember hundreds and hundreds of eggs, and everybody

crawling to find the eggs, a great event for my daughter. we are very good in that we have events for children and moms, but we also engage the volunteer base because they worked very hard, and they invest a lot of time. your comment earlier that a lot of us work in the home and also outside the home, and volunteering takes a significant amount of time, and we have events to thank the volunteers and get together and celebrate the volunteers. >> we cannot thank the volunteers and the. i saw there was an article written by one of the dad's, and is there way to include the dads that are involved, is that one way, an article written from the dads perspective? >> totally. our group does focus on mothers, but i think sometimes getting the dads perspective is great, and they share this different and unique

perspective. it is always unique. it that is wonderful, and thank you so much, and we'll take a break and be back for a final segment on this mother's day.

happy mother's day. we have time to thank our viewers, and our wonderful guests from the golden gate mother's group, and tell us how to join. you can go to ggmg.org and we also have a facebook page. happy mother's day to both of you.>> thank you for having us, and happy mother's day to everybody out there. and brunch being

made by your two wonderful sons. >> they love to make me breakfast in bed.>> your 22- month-old may need some help. >> i hope i get to celebrate by getting an extra hour of sleep. thank you to the golden gate mother's group, a wonderful organization, and the half on our producer, and i'm pastor elizabeth and have a wonderful sunday and mother's day.

have a show idea...... welcome to bay sunday, and i am your host, kenny choi, and go to our facebook page, and we would love to hear from you. live an interview with gary marshall, book author and nonprofit, and also welcome jeff, inside the last rural chinese town, and tell us about this story, and why should people care about this. first of all, happy asian pacific heritage month, a great event kicking that off last week, and it is great to be honoring