Our decisions have implications, beyond the immediate context. Every "yes" means a million "no's." Viewing seemingly small choices through the lens of hindsight, we reveal seismic shifts were attributable to chance, serendipity or an afterthought.
Circumstances, adoption, or birth delivers our children to our arms and alters our future.
The odds were long that being a Godparent would be anything more than a dedication to love. But now your new daughter is upstairs grieving the...
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The universe is unfair. The most basic electronic gizmo is packaged with at least a couple of pages of instructions. And yet, your precious baby comes out of the wrapper without a hint of operating instructions.
I was thrilled when my kids began to understand language. The ability to communicate took our relationship to a new level. I didn't like playing a game of 20 questions before I realized what toy she wanted.
Among the errors, I...
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My short list:
Joy
To laugh
Patience
Humility
Weariness
Frustration...
Here is your justification to celebrate your eccentricities. The more "out there," the more fake Internet points you win!!
No parents adhere to the status quo in all areas as they are raising children. How have you chosen to push back on what society says is proper, and taken your own path?
One of my favorite contrarian moments occurred on a Saturday morning in the Washington DC suburbs. The kids were in their early teens and...
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I trust Harry and Zinnia Wormwood didn't establish your parenting standards. The 1996 film Matilda, based on Roald Dahl's book, followed a young Matilda Wormwood through her troublesome life as a youth with special powers. Her parents, played by Danny DeVito and Rhea Pearlman, apparently didn't do much reading to prepare for parenthood.
You would think that as long as parenting has been around, humanity would have the details of this monumental task figured out. The book What To Expect When You Are Expecting has the market cornered during pregnancy. But after the birth...
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Parents can quickly explain parenting failures and desires to have parented differently. But that is not the question; what is one thing you did right?
The moment of holding your first newborn and realizing you will be taking the bundle home is an explosion of relief, joy, and terror. Thankfully, you and I were not the first riders at this rodeo.
We depend on multiple resources to help guide and shape our care of our children. Everyone tries to be helpful, although some advice misses the mark. A shot of whiskey...
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Science and mathematics have never been my strong suit, but I am convinced the reason the Earth doesn't fall out of orbit is that you and I each spend our days carrying it on our shoulders. We each lug around one quadrillion, seven hundred fifty-six trillion pounds on our back. It is no surprise we have lower back problems. God forbid someone trips.
Think I am wrong? Tell me how you feel on those days when nothing is working for you.
What does your sense of humor look like on these hard days compared to your best days?
The absence of laughter and jokes are the first indication...
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I have been looking forward to writing this post for a long time. One of the greatest gifts I have encountered has been on the receiving end of mockery by good friends.
First, a bit of clarification. I have always called it mockery until I did research for this post and found a better collection of terms, thanks, Merriam-Webster!
The definition of raillery is "good-natured ridicule." Whereas mockery...
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Humor can tear down walls when properly wielded and build walls and destroy relationships when improperly handled.
A cashier dug up some coupons to give me a deep discount after bantering some funny comments back and forth. In another case, after presenting a briefing and cracking a joke, the General winced, and the joke fell flat. In the end, it worked out for the best, retelling the story was far better than the joke.
How do you use humor throughout your day? Are you able to handle...
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"From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere." Dr. Seuss
What is it that makes you laugh? What is your comedy type? Do you enjoy the physical, satirical, dark, observational, or one of the other many comedy genres?
I love the dry British humor of Monty Python, but my wife has placed the genre firmly in the stupid category. Other movies, she enjoys, and I would rather be found happily organizing the basement, than trying to justify watching the film. Granted, this may be part of her strategy.
The diversity of humor is fantastic. Just as the complexities...
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Regardless of your station in life, someone is doing worse. Opportunities to connect and make a difference abound. These missions call us out of our little bubbles to a cause greater than ourselves.
A business mentor mentioned, "Everyone expects you to do your job well. Your legacy is based on the sideline projects and causes where you made an impact." Since retiring, this mentor is regularly asked to speak about the causes he championed. His primary job is part of the intro, but he speaks for the causes.
This counsel challenged my view of how to invest in parallel efforts...
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The picture is not flashy, but the words are trustworthy. This snapshot is from Seth Godin's new 17 lbs behemoth book, What Does It Sound Like When You Change Your Mind?
This community desires to provide good service, exemplify good leadership, and enjoy a good life through the use of inquiry.
This last week of 2016 is a fitting time to reflect on this past year and look forward our investment in the new year.
What made your list of things you cared about over...
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Mirror-image cursive encompassed 13,000 pages of notes and drawings. The topics compose a mini encyclopedia. Detailed studies of flying machines, plants, architecture, babies, emotions, and drapery, are a sampling of the journals Leonardo da Vinci wrote. Many of his studies are written in a manner to make publishing easy. This genius is human; the journals include lists of debtors and weekly groceries.
In 1994, Bill Gates paid over $30M for 18 sheets of paper that contain 72 pages of da Vinci's journal, known as the Codex Leicester. I haven't journaled flying machines, but I have journaled grocery lists, so I have hope for...
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Veins bulging at her temples, body drenched in sweat, and muscles are screaming for relief. Your Muse continues to administer CPR to keep your creativity alive. Every chest compression pushes oxygenated blood to the extremities and keeps the brain functioning. The Muse knows you both have much left undone.
There are more poems, code, proposals, equations, and songs to be written. If your creative persistence dies, your addition to the annals of the human experiment remains incomplete, and your Muse dies with you.
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Hearing a song from our teenage years lights up our brain like a Fourth of July fireworks show. The perfect storm of raging hormones, significant neurological development, and strong emotions, tie memories and songs together.
As life progresses, there is not the same dynamic happening in our bodies and the ties are not as strong. Doctor's us music to bring back memories of youth to Alzheimer's patients by playing songs from the Top 100 charts of their youth. The area of the brain that stores these memories is some of the last to be affected by the disease. The patients can regain some awareness and enjoy walking down memory lane.
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