Cover Story

By now, you’ve noticed that this magazine has undergone a major transformation. Not only does it look fantastic and is much easier to read (big kudos to the very talented Luke Hodsdon, our art director, and John Miller, director of design), but more important, our focus has shifted, too.

Formerly “The News Magazine for Parents,” OC Family Magazine is now laser-focused on moms and the business of mothering. Our new tagline is: “Moms. Kids. Life.”

Why? Well, with women comprising nearly 90% of our readership and moms spending more than $2 trillion dollars a year, according to Maria Bailey, our Smart Mom columnist and author of “Trillion Dollar Moms,” it just makes sense that we would retool our magazine to appeal more to mothers.

In today’s Internet-surfing-text-messaging-cell-phone-using world, it’s all about connecting and staying connected. And that’s precisely what we’re helping you to do through the combination of our website – ocfamily.com – and each issue of our newly designed magazine. Our goal is to keep you connected in 3 ways: to the resources and information that will help you become better mothers; to other mothers with whom you’ll find solidarity and support; and, best of all, to the woman in you.

That last part sounds strange, I know. But think about it: Before you became a mother, you were a woman, first. Somehow, though, between diaper changes, loads of laundry and carpooling, you’ve probably lost touch with that core identity and secretly yearn for the days when you were able to indulge more of your feminine side. With our new format, we will help you reconnect with that sacred part of yourself that might have gotten lost along the way.

Motherhood is a crazy, tiring, stressful business to be sure. It’s also the most gratifying job we’ve ever had, wouldn’t you agree? After a harried day of running kids around and barking orders like a drill sergeant, my payoff comes at night, when I’m locking up and shutting off lights. As I pass by my daughters’ bedrooms on the way to mine, knowing that they’re clean, fed and safe (and that their homework is done, thank goodness!), and hearing their soft snores, I think, “Well done, Lynn.” And I can’t wait to get back on the job tomorrow.

I couldn’t think of a better time to launch our new magazine than the month of May. Not only does it mark 10 years to the month when readers picked up our first issue, but, more significantly, it’s the time of year when we honor all the mothers of the world. Please consider our revamped magazine – and website, ocfamily.com – our Mother’s Day gifts to you. May you experience every joy imaginable in this wonderful, exhausting and very privileged journey called motherhood.