Mom

Mom wouldn't want you to spend your scarce dollars on her. But you can spend the day with her and enjoy some free events. Baltimore County Golf is offering a free round of golf at two public courses, Greystone or Woodlands. The deal requires that mom be accompanied by at least one other fee-paying adult. Also, MrFreeStuff.com, a blog that writes about, well, free stuff, has these suggestions: A walk among the greenery on National Public Gardens Day. Free entry on May 11, not Mother's Day, at participating gardens . In Maryland, that's Adkins Arboretum, but you also can drive down to D.C. to go to Smithsonian Gardens and Tudor Place Historic House and Garden.

Cristal Fortino, of Manchester, earned her degree in sociology from McDaniel College, and took part in commencement ceremonies on May 19. Fortino, who was a stay-at-home mom to her two children for 15 years, enrolled at McDaniel College after her husband lost his job due to downsizing. It was around her family's dinner table that the decision was made for her to return to school, and a scholarship from McDaniel allowed her to achieve that goal. Fortino technically graduated in December, but took part in the May commencement.

A family's school year routines dissolve into chaos in the summer, to be replaced by a schedule as loose fitting as a beach coverall and just as informal. It is the same every summer, but mothers stubbornly attempt again each year to pull together something that resembles a daily routine, even if it is only a meal or a bath. (OK. Maybe not a bath.) I am watching this happen again this year, and I have to laugh. Such good intentions. Such determination. And it will all have fallen apart by the Fourth of July.

Happy  Mother's Day  dear readers, If you are a mom or a grandmother, you hopefully will celebrate Sunday surrounded by loved ones. Mother's Day  is the single most popular day to dine out - how about a Havre de Grace restaurant - or make long-distance telephone calls. It is the third most popular holiday to send greeting cards. Anna Jarvis, a 45-year-old Philadelphian spinster and insurance clerk, was inspired to create Mother's Day after the death of her mother. With the financial backing by Philadelphia department store tycoon, John Wanamaker in 1907, Anna dedicated her life to fulfill her mother's dream of a national holiday to honor mothers everywhere.

Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake might be Baltimore's highest-ranking mother, balancing her role as mom to 6-year-old Sophia with her duties as mayor. But there is another mother who plays an important role in City Hall — the mayor's mom. Whether she is caring for her lively young granddaughter or embracing old friends or former patients at official events, Dr. Nina Rawlings stands by her daughter, offering quiet wisdom and a helping hand. "I could not do what I do as mayor without my mom," said Rawlings-Blake, explaining that her mother hustles Sophia off to school in the morning and helps her with homework in the afternoon.

Maternal love! African lion mama Annie licks one of her three 2-month-old cubs inside an open-air cage at the Royev Ruchey zoo in Russia on August 11. The cubs were born on June 12. Annie had just began to walk with her babies outside the more-closed space where the cubs were born. Photo: REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin

L ast week was a tough one for Michael Phelps . I am betting it was equally tough for his mom. Baltimore's Olympic champion swimmer was photographed smoking dope and, by week's end, the give-the-kid-a-break public reaction had turned ugly. USA Swimming suspended him from competition for three months, and Kellogg's Frosted Flakes dropped him. Worse, a columnist compared him to dog-killer Michael Vick, and another declared that he had disgraced the nation. There were camera crews following him and reporters were using megaphones, shouting at him to appear.

Ohio mom Tiffany Tehan ran away from her husband and her year-old baby with a handyman and, after a televised search, was found five days later in a Miami motel room with him. She had "wanted a new life," authorities said. When she returned, television cameras were waiting. Reporters shouted questions, demanding to know what was next for the couple. And Good Morning America's Elizabeth Vargas was on the air passing judgment: "It is one thing to walk out on your husband. It's a whole ‘nother thing to walk out on your daughter.

LAST YEAR 20th Century Fox released a little film it made for around $18 million, which is lunch money in Hollywood. It was called "Home Alone," and was about a small boy accidentally left behind while his family went to France on vacation.You could tell it was a fantasy because his parents flew first class and left the kids to their own devices in coach without being arrested by customs agents or spat upon by their fellow passengers, and the family lived in the kind of house you dream of owning if you ever win Lotto, with no fingerprints around the light switches.

When I was 7, my mother decided our family needed some culture. She bought a secondhand piano and started calling our den "the Music Room." She loved referring to "the Music Room" as though it were "the Conservatory" or "the Drawing Room." (None of our friends had music rooms.) Before long, a floor-model Zenith radio and an RCA record player joined the piano. My father built shelves for albums of classical LPs. Our family dined to Strauss waltzes and symphonic suites. On Saturdays, my older sister, Janet, and I were forced to listen to live performances from the Metropolitan Opera while we did our chores.

Mom wouldn't want you to spend your scarce dollars on her. But you can spend the day with her and enjoy some free events. Baltimore County Golf is offering a free round of golf at two public courses, Greystone or Woodlands. The deal requires that mom be accompanied by at least one other fee-paying adult. Also, MrFreeStuff.com, a blog that writes about, well, free stuff, has these suggestions: A walk among the greenery on National Public Gardens Day. Free entry on May 11, not Mother's Day, at participating gardens . In Maryland, that's Adkins Arboretum, but you also can drive down to D.C. to go to Smithsonian Gardens and Tudor Place Historic House and Garden.

These groups meet regularly. Baltimore Bead Society - Second Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. September-July. Howard County Center for the Arts, 8510 High Ridge Road, Ellicott City. 410-480-2711, 410-451-3622 or http://www.baltobead.org . Center of Light and Love - Second Sunday, 6-7 p.m. Owen Brown Community Center, 6800 Cradlerock Way, Columbia. 410-995-4647, centeroflightandlove@comcast.net or http://www.centeroflightandlove.org . Chavurah - Second Sunday and fourth Friday.

Winters Mill boys lacrosse coach Sal Picataggi gave senior midfielder Evan Horn high praise Wednesday when he simply stated: "When the game is on the line, I want the ball in Evan's stick. " In his third year on varsity, Horn, a captain, brings leadership, a good understanding of the game and a knack for making the smart play during the big moments. This season, he has six goals, 17 assists and 68 ground balls for the No. 11 Falcons. Also a four-year starter at point guard for the Falcons' basketball team, he is set to play hoops at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Va. Before going off to college, Horn - a National Honor Society member who maintains a 3.75 GPA - would like nothing better than to close out his high school career with a state title in lacrosse.

It's time to meet the really, really bad parents. Look, no mom and dad are perfect. They make mistakes. They miss ball games. But Megan Draper's folks (played by guest stars Ronald Guttman and Julia Ormond. Julia freaking Ormond) fight loudly in French, cheat at an American Cancer Society Ball and basically make their daughter feel like crap. Also making her daughter feel like crap, in a particularly non-French but more brutal way, is Peggy's mom. Sigh. I want to give my parents a call and just have them say something nice to me. Lets start with Megan folks, who are visiting from Montreal (yet have really, really, really French accents)

These groups meet regularly. ALS Resource support group - First Saturday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. Educational support for ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) patients, family members and friends. Owen Brown Interfaith Center, Conference Room 116B, 7246 Cradlerock Way, Columbia. 301-978-9855 or http://www.ALSinfo.org. Caregiver's support group - First Tuesday, 3:30 p.m. Medical Pavilion at Howard County, 10710 Charter Drive, Suite G010, Columbia. 410-740-5858. Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America - First Tuesday, 7 p.m. Medical Pavilion at Howard County General Hospital, 10710 Charter Drive, Suite 100, Columbia.

Sam Darcangelo learned about lacrosse at a young age from her father, national Hall of Famer Jim Darcangelo, a two-time All-American at Towson and a U.S. national team player. She took to the sport quickly and turned into an All-Metro second-team player at Maryvale. A versatile midfielder, Darcangelo had scored 44 goals and added nine assists entering Wednesday for the No. 5 Lions this spring. She also plays for the ROME lacrosse club and for the Lions' field hockey team. She has signed to play at Florida next season.

The mother and daughter relax on a cushy sofa, laughing quietly as they speak of their unusual yet utterly normal life together. "Sometimes I get a little frustrated [with you], don't I, Talynn?" the mom asks. "Yes, but we always work it out," the 9-year-old replies, leaping onto Traci Lucien and applying a huge hug. "Nobody's taking my Mommy. She's tooken. We're together forever!" Talynn exclaims. It's an especially tender moment, considering the two met just two years ago. That was when Lucien, a single professional who was then 49, adopted Talynn (pronounced Tay-LINN )

At Tiny Toes, a children's boutique on Main Street in Bel Air, owner Karen Jacobs specializes in giving moms the Hollywood treatment. Jacobs and her employees, who are all moms, help customers select everything from clothing for their own kids to baby shower gifts for friends. “We try to provide a personal touch and create a special shopping experience,” says Jacobs, 36. “As a mom with two young kids, I understand you're busy, and I understand what it's like for other moms.” Jacobs, who has a 6-year-old son, Benjamin, and 4-year-old daughter, Charlotte, opened the boutique with her mom, Tina Lewis, in July 2006.