'Dance Moms,' Restaurants and Things We Do for Love

Yesterday, I logged 51.7 miles in my beat-up minivan doing the circuit to youth group, gymnastics, unicycle club and back to gymnastics, all on twisting Pittsburgh back roads. By the end of the evening, I had spent 3.5 hours in the car with two 10-minute breaks and felt so queasy that I stopped at a Giant Eagle to buy soda biscuits.

These activities, as you probably guessed, were not for me. My kids love them, thrive at them and develop life skills—yes, even in unicycle club!—so pretty much every Wednesday evening, I endure this local road trip. Thousands of South Hills parents do similar things for love everyday.

Some people take what they'll do for love to the extreme. Leslie Ackerman of Upper St. Clair (and formerly of Brookline) has exposed herself to a slew of potential criticism by appearing on the Lifetime reality show "Dance Moms." It is not always a pretty portrayal, but Leslie has not done it naively. She thinks that the show might ultimately help her daughter's dance career, so she is willing to take the flack "for love." (Read the story.)

Cathleen Enders, of Scott Township, was in love with the dream of opening a restaurant. One month shy of being fully invested in her job, she walked away to open on Bower Hill Road in Upper St. Clair. Luckily, the restaurant has been a success. Enders and her partners, Gloria Fortunato, of Dormont; and Lynne Bielewicz, of Mt Washington, work 60-plus hours per week, but they love it. (Read the story.)

Jan Donovan, of Mt. Lebanon, loved her career as a therapist and marriage counselor but felt that she needed more expertise to help victims of sexual abuse who came to her practice. This was in the late 1980s. Where else would you go but to the famous Masters and Johnson Institute? Donovan endured six months of seven-days-per-week training—and the egos of the infamous couple—but it was worth it. Going on 20 years-plus, her love for her career is still going strong.  (Read the story.)

We do crazy things, big and small, for what and whom we love. One day, maybe our kids, our clients or the people who eat at our restaurant will tell us that they appreciate what we do. Or maybe not. But it doesn't matter; we do it for love.

Read all of the above stories and more in the February issue of Wise Women, a local e-journal for and about women of the South Hills.